Centre leader’s bid for a centrist government fails

Centre Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist has found no majority for a centrist government after a week of talks, sending Sweden’s government-formation process back to Speaker Andreas Norlén.

She reported to Norlén on Monday, 26 October, after meeting every parliamentary party leader. The Centre Party had sought a centrist government led by Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson. Its economic spokesperson also held parallel talks with the Social Democrats, Christian Democrats, Greens and Liberals.

Thand Ringqvist said there was support for centrist policies but not for a centrist government. Asked whether that option could now be buried, she replied: “For now, we can bury it,” Sveriges Radio reported.

The parties’ red lines remain the obstacle. In its account of the talks, the Centre Party said no party had changed its position on Left Party ministers, and Thand Ringqvist described support for including the Left in government as very weak.

Norlén will now speak to party representatives by telephone about how to move the process forward, the Riksdag said. He will announce the next step after those discussions.

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