Sweden’s Government Talks Collapse After Left Party Backs Right-Wing Speaker

Sweden is stuck in political deadlock. Magdalena Andersson, leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, has given up trying to form a four-party government after her center-left bloc won the election but deep divisions inside the group blocked a deal [251984]. No new government is in place.

The crisis was triggered by the Left Party (Vänsterpartiet) announcing it will support Andreas Norlén, the Moderate Party's candidate for Speaker of the Swedish Parliament. Vice Chair Ida Gabrielsson announced the decision on SVT's Agenda Sunday evening [251689]. Former Social Democratic State Secretary Irene Wennemo said the Social Democrats will see the move as a declaration of war [251689].

In response, Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson returned her mandate to explore forming a government [252754]. The Speaker vote is typically a test of bloc unity. By backing the Moderates' candidate, V is effectively siding with the right on a key procedural vote [252754]. Andersson's decision to hand back the exploratory mandate means she cannot currently build a governing coalition [252754].

Talks on Wednesday did not lead to a new attempt to form a government. Instead, the conflict between the Left Party and the Centre Party (Centerpartiet) deepened. "It is difficult to form a government when the Centre Party is not clear about which bloc it wants to join," said Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar [253909].

Despite the harsh tone, analysts expect the opposition parties to reach a deal in the end. "It still looks like they will somehow form a government," said political scientist Tommy Möller [252750].

The Speaker vote has become a power struggle between the political blocs — and also within the parties that are expected to support Magdalena Andersson's government. Whoever wins the vote will face a task as difficult as the one the speaker confronted in 2018 [251695].

Meanwhile, Swedish officials are investigating what happened during voting in Borlänge and Järva. The details are still unclear, but one thing should be clear no matter what the investigation finds: entire groups must never be blamed for what individual people may have done [253903].