Thand Ringqvist herself does not yet know how she would answer if she is asked to take the job after the current party leader Anna-Karin Hatt.
The question is far too early to raise. The message we received yesterday was shocking for everyone, she says to TT.
Anna-Karin Hatt announced on Wednesday that she will not stand for re-election when the Center Party has a party meeting in November.
Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist states that her focus is on continuing to lead the Center Party's parliamentary group and that the party's electoral committee must first gather opinions from members and party districts.
Mentions favorite
The Center Party's EU parliamentarian Emma Wiesner has her favorite clear for herself.
I see an excellent candidate in Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist and I hope she is interested in running, says Wiesner to TT.
I hope the members see the potential that I see in her.
Since Thand Ringqvist is well-rooted in entrepreneurship, climate and business issues, she could quickly pick up the ball and take the party towards the election campaign, Wiesner believes.
Emma Wiesner has herself been a name in the speculations, but she wants to fulfill her mission in the EU Parliament.
I feel that I do not want to give it up and it is not my time this time to run as party leader, she says.
Focus on something else
A name that many in the Center Party would like to see as Hatt's successor is Emil Källström, the party's former economic policy spokesperson.
He was not interested in the spring when Hatt was elected and does not seem to be now either.
My situation is unchanged compared to how it looked in the spring when Anna-Karin took office. I have my focus on another important trust assignment, as CEO of Sekab, he says to Örnsköldsviks Allehanda (ÖA).
Emil Källström left his seat in the Riksdag in 2021 and now works at Sekab, a Swedish chemical company that produces fossil-free chemicals.
However, it has happened before that potential party leader candidates change their minds. Hatt first said no, before she said yes.
Källström tells ÖA that he does not have his own favorite for the party leader job, but expects that "someone from within the party" will be elected, since there is little time.
