HELSINKI, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Swedish Parliament Speaker Andreas Norlen on Thursday nominated Center Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist as the country's next prime minister (PM), with a parliamentary vote scheduled for next Tuesday, marking the latest attempt to break the political deadlock following September's general election.
Norlen said the Nov. 3 vote would test parliamentary support for a proposed five-party coalition government comprising the Center Party, Social Democratic Party, Christian Democrats, Green Party and Liberal Party.
Thand Ringqvist confirmed to Swedish Television (SVT) that she had accepted the nomination, saying the Center Party would "continue to take responsibility and contribute constructively to ensuring that Sweden gets a government."
She said the speaker had decided to nominate her following their discussions, although she had also pointed out that other possible ways forward remained.
Norlen thanked Thand Ringqvist for her efforts to explore possible governing arrangements, saying they had helped deepen understanding of the political situation.
Drawing on lessons from Sweden's prolonged government formation process in 2018, Norlen said he wanted to link exploratory talks more closely with parliamentary votes to maintain momentum and gradually increase pressure on political parties to resolve the deadlock.
He also outlined the next step should Thand Ringqvist's nomination be rejected. Ulf Kristersson, leader of the Moderate Party and outgoing PM, would then be given one week, from Nov. 3 to Nov. 10, to explore the possibility of forming a government.
The latest development follows weeks of unsuccessful attempts to form a government after Sweden's Sept. 13 general election. On Oct. 15, parliament rejected Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson's bid to become the PM. Andersson had previously failed to secure sufficient support for a government after two rounds of exploratory talks.
On Oct. 19, Norlen tasked Thand Ringqvist with exploring the possibility of forming a government. However, after holding talks with other parliamentary parties, she reported back to the speaker on Monday that her efforts had failed to break the political deadlock.
The Social Democratic Party, Left Party, Green Party and Center Party together won 176 seats in the 349-member parliament in September's election, giving them a narrow majority but leaving them divided over the composition of a new government.
Under Sweden's constitution, a prime ministerial nominee is rejected if at least 175 members of parliament vote against the proposal. If four consecutive nominations are rejected, a new election must be held within three months. ■
