On Friday, Sweden’s parliament speaker said that, following post-election talks with party leaders, he had tasked opposition leader Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democrats with forming a government.
Andersson, who served as Sweden’s first female prime minister from 2021 to 2022, now faces the challenge of uniting a left-leaning bloc divided by ideological differences.
“It is a task I take on with great humility, and I will act constructively to form a new administration,” Andersson, 59, said in a statement posted to Instagram.
“I want to lead a government that reflects the new direction the Swedish people have voted for — one that moves Sweden forward and keeps our country united.”
Andersson is expected to seek support from three other left-wing parties: the Left Party, the centrist Centre Party and the Greens.
The Centre Party has said it would oppose a government that includes Left Party ministers. The Left Party, in turn, has insisted that it would join only a left-wing administration.
Following Sunday’s general election, the four left-leaning parties hold a three-seat majority in the 349-member parliament over outgoing Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s centre-right Alliance, which includes the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats.
Norlen said Andersson must report her progress on September 28, when the new parliament first convenes and elects a speaker.
If Andersson fails to form a government, Kristersson would then attempt to assemble his own governing majority.
After the 2022 election, Sweden took 37 days to form a government, while the process in 2018 lasted 134 days.
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