A dispute over one parliamentary post has unsettled Sweden’s coalition talks, while the parties disagree over who broke the political understanding.
In Sweden, no agreement could be reached on forming a government because of a dispute over the candidate for speaker of parliament. Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson said she was ending her efforts to form a coalition.
This is reported by the media outlet Politico.
I can conclude that, at this point, I am unable to form a government.
– Magdalena Andersson at a press conference
According to Andersson, the Left Party’s decision to support incumbent Speaker Andreas Norlén of the Moderate Coalition Party rather than Social Democrat Johanna Haraldsson’s candidacy had broken up the coalition she was trying to form. Andersson also pointed to the tradition of having the speaker come from the largest party in the governing coalition.
Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar disagreed with this interpretation of events and denied that her party had formed a new bloc with the Moderate Coalition Party. At the same time, the Left Party continues to support Andersson as a candidate for prime minister.
Election results and voting rules
In the September 13 election, Andersson’s centre-left bloc won three more seats than the conservative bloc led by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. After the election, Kristersson resigned, and the newly elected parliament began its work. A vote on the prime ministerial candidate could take place no earlier than Tuesday, while negotiations to form a government could last several weeks.
Under Sweden’s procedure, a candidate for prime minister does not need to win an absolute majority of votes “for.” The candidate is approved as long as 175 or more MPs do not vote against them.