STOCKHOLM — Sweden's government deadlock moved to its next act on Tuesday: parliament rejected Centre Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist as prime minister, as widely expected, and Speaker Andreas Norlén then asked caretaker Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, leader of the Moderates, to try to form a new cabinet, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters

Norlén said in a statement that Kristersson is due to report back on his attempt by November 10 at the latest — a one-week window to test whether a government can be built from a parliament his own bloc does not control.

Kristersson told a press conference he would attempt to form a “non-socialist” government, adding, however, that it would probably be very difficult. His Moderates are parliament's second-biggest party, behind the Social Democrats.

Two votes down, two to go

Tuesday's rejection of Thand Ringqvist was the second prime-ministerial vote since the September election. In the first, on October 15, parliament rejected a bid by Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson to form a minority Social Democrat cabinet, also as widely expected. Under Sweden's constitution the speaker can put forward up to four candidates; if all four are rejected, a new — extraordinary — election must be called.

Why Sweden is stuck

September's election gave the centre-left opposition a majority, with 176 of the 349 seats against 173 for Kristersson's right-wing bloc. But while all four centre-left parties favour Andersson as prime minister, they do not agree on who should be part of a new government — the disagreement that has kept Sweden without a settled cabinet for nearly two months. Thand Ringqvist, whose Centre Party is parliament's fifth-biggest, was tasked by the speaker on October 19 with exploring a centrist coalition, abandoned that attempt last week, and was nonetheless put to Tuesday's vote, which the speaker had said was meant to keep up the pace and increase pressure on the parties.

Swedish broadcaster SVT reported before the vote that Kristersson was the expected next recipient of the mandate, and Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch said on Tuesday that giving him the assignment would be “completely natural”.

Source: SVT via Daily Northern

What happens next

Reuters noted there is little indication so far that Kristersson can secure a majority, and that Norlén could give the mandate back to Andersson should Kristersson fail. If his attempt collapses by November 10, the speaker still has further nominations available before the four-vote limit forces an extraordinary election — the outcome every party says it wants to avoid, and the one the constitution imposes if the deadlock cannot be broken.