STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden’s parliament will vote in early December on whether the caretaker prime minister, Social Democrat Stefan Lofven, should form a new administration, the speaker said on Friday.
September’s election left the centre-right and centre-left blocs short of a majority, and the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats – which the mainstream parties refuse to deal with – holding the balance of power.
Parliament has already passed a vote of no confidence in Lofven, prime minister from 2014, and parties have shown little sign of changing their positions since then.
“It is still a difficult political situation and there is, of course no guarantee, that his candidature will be successful,” the speaker told reporters.
The vote will probably take place on Dec. 5, he said.
GRAPHIC – Election scenarios: https://tmsnrt.rs/2p45tJh
(Reporting by Stockholm Newsroom; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)