Previously, the Left Party announced that it would support incumbent Speaker Norlen in the election for speaker.

On Monday, Sweden’s Social Democratic Party leader and former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said that she would return her exploratory mandate to the speaker of parliament later in the day, giving up her current attempt to form a new government.

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Her decision came after the Left Party announced that it would support incumbent Speaker Andreas Norlen, a Moderate Party lawmaker, in Monday’s election for speaker.

She said she had accepted the mandate on Sept. 18 and had since held talks with several parties over the possibility of forming a government.

She said Sweden has a long-standing tradition under which the speaker comes from the largest party in the governing camp. The Left Party’s decision to back the Moderates’ candidate meant that a new parliamentary constellation had emerged, she said, adding that “this new constellation should also be given the opportunity to try to form a government.”

Swedish media has treated the four opposition parties as a single bloc for four years. Now that they won, they haven’t even sat in the same room and refuse to negotiate until their respective red lines are dropped. Magdalena Andersson has now returned her mandate to explore… pic.twitter.com/4zLWeZCtNw

— S🕊️🇸🇪 (@8bdrssss) September 28, 2026

Taking into account the Left Party’s decision and her talks with other parties, Andersson said she saw no possibility of forming a government at present. She added that it remained to be seen how the situation would develop in the coming weeks.

Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar rejected Andersson’s suggestion that her party and the Moderates had formed a new political bloc. She said the party backed Norlen because of his extensive experience as speaker and in overseeing government formation talks, and that the decision should not be interpreted as a political alliance.

Sweden held its parliamentary election on Sept. 13. The final results gave the Social Democrats, Left Party, Green Party and Centre Party a combined 176 seats in the 349-seat Riksdag, while the Moderate Party, Sweden Democrats, Christian Democrats and Liberals won a combined 173 seats.

The Social Democrats emerged as the largest party with 99 seats. Outgoing Prime Minister and Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson subsequently submitted his resignation. On Sept. 18, Norlen tasked Andersson with exploring the possibility of forming a government that could be accepted by parliament.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: Xinhua

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