Stockholm has been trapped in deadlock, with no party wanting to govern with the far-right Sweden Democrats. Social Democrat PM Stefan Lofven is set to retain his post by promising to bring his party to the right.
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Sweden looked set to finally resolve four months of political deadlock on Wednesday and allow Prime Minister Stefan Lofven to take a second term in office. The Left party said it would abstain in a crucial vote on Friday, clearing the way for Lofven and his patchwork coalition.
Lofven, leader of the Social Democrats, has been leading a caretaker government since elections on September 9 yielded inconclusive results. Although the Social Democrats won the most votes, their 31.1 percent support left them grappling to form a coalition in a country with eight mainstream parties and proportional representation.
These problems were compounded by the fact that most other parties wanted to govern without the support of the Left and the far-right Sweden Democrats, who are rooted in Norwegian white supremacist circles.
But the Social Democrats have managed to pull together an unusual union of the left and right wing by gaining the support of the Greens, Liberals, and the Center party. In doing so, however, Lofven has had to promise to take his traditional center-left party to the right.
"Sweden needs a government," said Lofven, adding that he was "humbled to have been nominated" for Friday's vote.
With the Left party abstaining from the vote, Lofven was pretty much guaranteed success. However, the leftists have warned that they would vote down the new government if the prime minister went forward with reforms on the labor law and rent hikes for newly-built homes.
es/msh (AP, dpa)
Swedish politics 2019: Who's who?
Sweden has struggled to form a government since the inconclusive election in 2018, spurred by a shaky minority coalition and the rise of the far-right Sweden Democrats. DW takes a look at the main party leaders.
Image: picture-alliance/DPR/TT/H. Franzén
Prime Minister Stefan Lofven — Social Democrats (S)
The Social Democrats under Prime Minister Stefan Lofven suffered their worst defeat in a century in September elections, losing 13 seats in parliament. Even so, Lovfen is expected to serve another term as the head of a minority government in a policy deal with the Greens, the Center Party, and the Liberals following months of failed attempts to form a coalition that could take the reins.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/E. Simander
Ulf Kristersson — Moderate Party
Ulf Kristersson's Moderates had a stab at building a coalition, but failed. In the end Sweden's second-largest party will be sitting on the sidelines. Kristersson has said he will take advantage of the first opportunity to topple the new government. The right-wing party is mainly focused on law and order and job creation.
The far-right Sweden Democrats had their hopes set on a new government that would rely on them as kingmaker. But the mainstream parties were loathe to cooperate with SD. The party's popularity has spiked in recent years due to rising anti-migrant sentiment (Sweden took in over 160,000 asylum-seekers in 2015) and Akesson's efforts to cleanse the party of its neo-Nazi roots.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/J. Reinhart
Isabella Lovin and Gustav Fridolin — Green Party
The Greens agreed again to be the junior partner in a Social Democrat-led coalition. The party has been set on preventing the Sweden Democrats from holding sway over a new government. With their strong focus on environment, Lovin pushed for flight and carbon taxes as minister for international development and climate. Fridolin, education minister, plans to resign the co-leadership in May.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/M. Kaman
Annie Loof — Center Party
Sweden's Center Party emerged from the Democratic Farmers League, and while agriculture and environment remain key to its policies, Annie Loof emerged as the party's hope to attract urban and more progressive voters. Loof got a shot at forming a coalition, but gave up after a week. The party has said it backs the Social Democrats' plan to lead a new government but will not join it.
Left Party chief Jonas Sjostedt, a former metal worker and union leader, served in the European Parliament from 1995-2006. He returned to Swedish politics and was elected to parliament in 2010 and became party leader two years later. The Left agreed not to block a new government under the Social Democrats' Lofven out of fear that the far-right Sweden Democrats might gain power in a snap election.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/TT/A. Ihse
Jan Bjorklund — Liberals
A former army major, Liberals leader Jan Bjorklund has adopted a fighting approach to politics. The results have been mixed; the party's policy ideas on education and equality have been well received, while calls to expand the military and join NATO have mostly fallen on deaf ears. Despite internal divisions, the party has backed Lofven as premier though they will not be part of his government.
Image: picture-alliance/IBL Schweden/Aftonbladet/L. Björn
Ebba Busch Thor — Christian Democrats (KD)
Sweden's Christian Democrats have struggled to attract wide support, despite attempts to distance themselves from religious roots. Meanwhile, the party's increasingly harsh tone toward migration may have alienated more voters with Christian values than it has drawn in new ones. Ebba Busch Thor has criticized the Center Party and Liberals for backing Lovfen, suggesting they humiliated themselves.