Sweden’s centre-right Opposition and the far right ousted Prime Minister Stefan Löfven in a vote of no-confidence on Tuesday, as the left and right blocs wrangle over who can form a new government after neither won a majority in September 9 elections.
Mr. Löfven’s departure was widely anticipated. The head of the Opposition four-party Alliance, Ulf Kristersson, has since election night, insisted that he intends to try to form a government.
With neither bloc able to build a majority, the far-right, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, who won almost 18% of votes in the election and is the country’s third-biggest party, has demanded that it be given influence over Swedish politics in exchange for its support in Parliament. But neither the left nor right has been willing to negotiate with the Sweden Democrats.
A total of 204 of 349 members of Parliament voted against Mr. Löfven , while 142 voted in favour. The Speaker of Parliament, Andreas Norlen, will begin talks on Thursday with the leaders of the eight parties represented in Parliament to determine who is best placed to form the next government.
Mr. Norlen, a member of Mr. Kristersson’s Moderate Party, is widely expected to task Mr. Kristersson with the job.
Mr. Löfven will stay on as Prime Minister in a caretaker role until a new government is in place, which could take weeks.
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