On Wednesday, Speaker Andreas Norlén announced that he needs more time before announcing exploratory missions or whether any prime ministerial candidate will be tested in the chamber, despite new talks with party leaders.
"It's obviously stagnant," says Tommy Möller. But too much focus has been placed on the Speaker's role in putting together a government, he believes, based on how the system is supposed to work.
The Speaker's task is to eventually put a clear proposal on the Riksdag's table for a new prime minister, and then he should be fairly certain that the proposal will be accepted, says Möller.
The parties do not need to wait to receive an exploratory mission, he says.
They can talk to each other anyway - they are expected to do so. The Speaker should not be the one who actually drives the process, it is the parties. The Speaker has been given a bit too much space in this process.
Hard to attract over C
It is not intended that the Speaker should present candidates for prime minister who are known not to be accepted by the Riksdag. At the same time, Möller adds, it may be the only way to move forward when things are so deadlocked. That was the case after the 2018 election.
So, what happens if the Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson is given the task of trying to form a government later this week? To do so, he needs to lure the Center Party, which is closing the door to the Sweden Democrats.
But not even a Kristersson government without ministerial posts for the SD would attract the Center Party, Möller believes.
It still means that together with the Sweden Democrats, we make such a government possible by abstaining from voting.
Locks take time
On the left, the deadlock is rooted in the fact that the Center Party does not accept the Left Party's demands to sit in government. Möller believes that it will take time to move forward with such demands.
That's a factor. It feels like 2018, when it was so locked down. It took a very long time. Finally, the situation became urgent and patience ran out.
Another factor is opinion polls. If voters punish a party, their negotiating strategy is undermined.
It can legitimize retreats from categorical positions: "Now we have tried the options on the table and something must be done, so we must take responsibility."
By-elections are still unlikely. The red-green majority has too much to lose from it, according to Möller.
As we get closer to that, I think we'll find a model on the red-green side to move forward.
