Sweden's Parliament Rejects Centre Party Leader as Prime Minister; Caretaker PM Kristersson Tasked With Exploring a Government

Sweden's parliament voted on November 3 to reject Centre Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist as prime minister, by 324 votes to 25. All 25 votes in favour came from her own Centre Party, and no lawmaker abstained. It was the second failed prime ministerial vote since the general election of September 13.

The Riksdag had already rejected Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson's bid to form a minority government on October 15. Thand Ringqvist's candidacy was linked to an attempted five-party centrist government, but that proposal had not secured the agreement of the parties involved.

Parliamentary Speaker Andreas Norlén then handed the exploratory task of forming a government to caretaker Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, leader of the Moderate Party, asking him to report back on his talks by November 10. Norlén confirmed the assignment is an exploratory mandate rather than a formal nomination. Accepting it, Kristersson said he would test a non-socialist arrangement and hold talks with other parties largely away from public attention, while acknowledging the assignment would probably be very difficult.

Sweden uses negative parliamentarism: a prime ministerial candidate does not need a majority in favour, but is rejected if at least 175 of the 349 members vote against. The four centre-left parties that prefer Andersson hold 176 seats, against 173 for Kristersson's outgoing right-leaning bloc. Under the constitution, parliament may hold only four prime ministerial ballots; two have now been used, and if all four proposals are rejected, an extraordinary election must be held within three months.

Source: Parliament of Sweden (Riksdag

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：位于斯德哥尔摩的瑞典议会大楼。Julian Herzog 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 4.0。 / Photo: The Riksdag building in Stockholm. Photo by Julian Herzog, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

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