Ulf Kristersson Asked To Form New Swedish Government

Sweden’s parliamentary speaker on Tuesday asked Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson to try to garner enough support to form a government.

Social Democrat Prime Minister Stefan Lofven resigned on Monday after losing a no-confidence vote last week, handing the speaker the job of finding a candidate for prime minister who could form a government that would pass a vote in parliament.

Parliament speaker Andreas Norlen told a news conference that Ulf Kristersson has the task of looking into the options, being leader of the biggest party in the group that ousted Lofven.

Kristersson is also supported by the Christian Democrats, Liberals and Sweden Democrats, but together, the parties can count on only 174 votes in the 349-seat parliament.

Writing on social media, Kristersson said in the coming days he would focus completely on the important talks that will now be held with the other parties in Sweden who also want a change of power, parties that put the political issues before the political game.

If no one from Lofven’s Social Democrats, the Greens – the junior party in Lofven’s minority coalition – the Centre and the Left Party is willing to support Kristersson, he will not be able to secure parliament’s backing as a majority would be against him.

Kristersson and his allies will hope to persuade at least one Member of Parliament to break ranks so that he can be elected.

The centre-right split over whether to seek a political accord with them after the last election in 2018, when the Centre and Liberals choosing to support their former rivals rather than give the Sweden Democrats a chance to influence policy.