The red-green party leaders will meet at lunchtime on Friday at the Högberga Gård conference hotel on Lidingö.
It is the first time they have been in the same room since the red-green parties won a majority in parliament. They have also taken their first group photo, all holding a cup of coffee.
"This is a great initiative by the Centre Party. It will give all four parties an opportunity to develop a shared picture of the challenges Sweden faces over the next four years," said Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson.
I hope this can lead to more conversations and more opportunities for all four of us to meet.
“She can talk about whatever she wants”
Andersson currently has an exploratory mandate from the Speaker of Parliament to try to form a new government. She will report back on the progress on Monday.
It is unclear whether she intends to ask for more time.
It depends a bit on how the meeting goes and what conclusions I draw over the weekend, she says.
The question of which parties will be part of a possible red-green government is not on the meeting’s agenda. But Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar wants to raise the topic anyway.
This is being arranged in the context of us forming a government, and then I assume that we will also move forward in that process and that Magdalena Andersson will continue to work to bring together the parties that she wants to see in a government, says Dadgostar.
According to Dadgostar, Andersson now needs to say who will be in the government.
But Centre Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist emphasizes that the government issue is not on the agenda.
She can talk about whatever she wants when she gets the floor at the end, but it’s not on the agenda, so it’s nothing we’re discussing, says Thand Ringqvist.
Christian Democrats and Liberals not invited
She has not invited the Liberals or the Christian Democrats to the meeting. The reason, according to the Centre Party leader, is that the red-green parties have not been able to sit in the same room.
It was a lockdown that we partly contributed to, and therefore we thought we could make an opening.
The meeting is expected to last four hours. Representatives from nine organizations and public bodies will each give their views for 20 minutes. After that, the parties will have the opportunity to share their reflections.
The deadlock stems from the Left Party’s demand for ministerial posts, while the Centre Party cannot support a government that includes the Left Party.
One hope is that developing a shared picture of Sweden’s problems can be a first step towards a solution.
National Institute of Economic Research, Director General Albin Kainelainen
Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, Chief Economist Emelie Värja
Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, CEO Jan-Olof Jacke
TCO (white-collar workers’ union), chairwoman Therese Svanström
LO (Swedish Trade Union Confederation), chair Johan Lindholm
Saco (Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations), chairwoman Sofia Rydgren Stal
The Police, Deputy National Police Commissioner Stefan Hector
Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Director Jakob Hallgren
Fossil-free Sweden, national coordinator Svante Axelsson
Source: Centre Party
