Sweden’s speaker asks Magdalena Andersson to form government

Stockholm, Sweden. Parliament speaker Andreas Norlen has asked Social Democrat leader and former prime minister Magdalena Andersson to form a new government following Sunday’s centre-left election victory.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of the Moderate Party announced his resignation on Thursday after his four-party right-wing bloc suffered a narrow defeat.

Government formation talks

Norlen said Andersson had accepted the task after meeting him.

“She has told me that she is ready to take on this task,” he told a press conference.

Andersson said voters had backed a new direction for Sweden and called for a government that would unite the country.

“It is important that there is a government that does not seek to divide our people … but rather a government that works to unite Sweden and, in doing so, move the country forward,” she said.

Coalition challenges

Andersson faces the task of bringing together four opposition parties, some of which have said they do not want to govern together or support a government in which they are not participating.

She said she wanted to build a broad coalition but did not identify which parties she expected to join the government. She has already ruled out cooperation with the far-right Sweden Democrats.

Andersson became Sweden’s first female prime minister in 2021 and served for 10 months.

Parliamentary process

Government formation could take time. After the 2018 election, Social Democrat leader Stefan Lofven took a record 134 days to secure parliamentary backing.

The speaker can nominate up to four candidates to form a government. If parliament rejects all four, the outgoing government remains in an interim capacity until a new election is held within three months.