Ulf Kristersson has said since election night that he is ready to try to form a government if the conditions are right for what he calls a non-socialist government. But so far, they have not been, he tells journalists in the Riksdag (the Swedish parliament).
As long as there are 176 seats backing a Social Democratic-led government, there are no conditions for that, says Ulf Kristersson.
I cannot change the composition of Parliament.
Could be asked to explore
On Thursday, the Riksdag will vote on Social Democratic Party leader Magdalena Andersson as prime minister. Everything points to her losing the vote, as her attempts to form a government on the red-green side have so far failed.
The next step could be for the Speaker to ask Ulf Kristersson to explore the possibility of forming a government.
He emphasizes that it is the Speaker’s task to appoint the next person to explore forming a government, but he himself sees little chance of success unless the parliamentary conditions change. In practice, this means the Centre Party must be open to changing sides.
Putting forward candidates you know will fail is wasting the Swedish people’s patience, says Kristersson.
The Speaker can put forward candidates for prime minister for a vote in the Riksdag four times. If no prime minister has been approved after four votes, a special election must be held. Since few parties want a special election, pressure on the parties to agree increases with each vote.
Is prepared
"The day the Speaker assesses that the conditions are right for me to form a non-socialist government, I will of course be prepared to do so," says Kristersson.
Even though all possible solutions currently look unlikely, Kristersson still believes a solution can be found.
"The only thing I think is even more unlikely in Sweden is that we will never have a government again. So something unlikely will eventually happen," he says.
What do you think?