Stockholm (AFP) – The president of the Swedish parliament announced on Friday that he was once again entrusting the leader of the Social Democrats with the mission of forming a government almost three weeks after the legislative elections won by a hair by the left bloc.
Published on: 02/10/2026 - 1:02 p.m.
“In light of the interviews I conducted, I decided to entrust Magdalena Andersson, president of the Social Democratic Party, with the mission of resuming her exploratory consultations,” Andreas Norlén said during a press conference.
Ms. Andersson, who, with her allies, now has 176 seats in parliament compared to 173 for the right and the far right, had on Monday given up on the idea of forming a government due to lack of agreement between the left and centrist parties.
“Her mission will formally begin on Monday, October 5 and must be reported to me no later than Monday, October 12. At that time, Magdalena Andersson can either finalize her mission or request additional time if negotiations or useful discussions are then underway and must be able to continue,” explained Mr. Norlén, stressing that the distribution of forces had not changed since the beginning of the week.
The results of the legislative elections of September 13 were so close that it took several days to confirm the narrow victory of the center-left bloc over that of the outgoing conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson which was emerging at the end of the election evening.
Swedish analysts were speculating whether the Parliament Speaker could entrust the mission to Mr Kristersson.
“We have four parties in Parliament which form a majority and they have Magdalena Andersson as their number one candidate for prime minister,” Mr Norlén told AFP.
"I consider it reasonable that she can first consider her options for forming a government on her side of the Swedish political spectrum and continue the task I gave her some time ago," he added.
To the press, Ulf Kristersson declared that he found it "natural" that Magdalena Andersson would be appointed in view of the election results.
On social networks, the latter welcomed her appointment.
"During the weekend I will reflect on how I can move the process forward. I hope that the other parties will also reconsider their positions," she wrote.
The speaker of the Riksdag, the unicameral parliament, has four attempts to task an official with forming a government. If the fourth fails, new elections must be called - a very unpopular prospect.
© 2026 AFP
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