The Centre Party is holding parallel negotiations with S leader Magdalena Andersson and M leader Ulf Kristersson.
The goal is for C to have two “total packages” to choose from on Friday. The packages C has requested should cover both policy and how it would be implemented, so that C’s red lines are not crossed. The party will not accept V in government and opposes giving SD influence over government policy.
C’s parallel negotiations are causing irritation on the red-green side. Several sources believe talks on policy, which have been underway for some time, have now stalled just as they were beginning to make progress.
“Monumental betrayal”
The S leader has warned C leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist against electing a bourgeois government that depends on SD’s support. That would be a monumental betrayal of C’s voters, she believes.
MP’s European Parliament member Alice Bah Kuhnke has also warned C against turning to the right.
Now C must decide whether it wants to walk the path the Liberals have taken, or whether it wants to continue to stand up for its fundamental values. It is a crucial decision, she says on Instagram.
According to information from Expressen and Ekot, C’s leadership is divided over which path the party should take.
Many talks are also underway on Ulf Kristersson’s side, and he is now considering not attending this week’s EU summit in Dublin.
He is aiming for a four-party bourgeois government, but the challenge is how he will minimise its dependence on SD in order, for example, to get his budget passed.
Unclear timetable
Kristersson has been tasked by the Speaker with trying to form a new government. At C’s initiative, he has been given an extended deadline, but the exact date for reporting back on his efforts has not been announced. It is also unclear how Speaker Andreas Norlén intends to proceed, since C has set its own deadline of Friday.
It may take some time for C to decide between the two government alternatives. The decision needs to be approved by the party, and a council of confidence may need to be convened. The council of confidence is the party’s highest decision-making body between party conferences.
At the same time, the S leader has urged V to reconsider its demand for ministerial posts. On Sunday, Andersson announced that she wants to form a government with MP and C, leaving V outside government but with close cooperation.
So far, there is nothing to indicate that V will back down from its demand, which was set out in a congress decision. On the contrary, deputy party chair Ida Gabrielsson is disappointed that S has given in to C’s demands.
I think we should not just stand around holding press conferences and dictating what should happen. Now that we had started talks, it would have been better if we had brought them together, she says.
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