Sweden is facing a fresh round of coalition negotiations after Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stepped down following a narrow election defeat that handed the centre-left opposition a slim majority in the country’s parliament.
Kristersson announced his resignation on Thursday afternoon, days after preliminary results from Sunday’s general election showed the opposition bloc holding a lead of roughly 50,000 votes over the ruling right-wing alliance.
The centre-left parties led by Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson are expected to secure 176 seats in the 349-member Riksdag, Sweden’s parliament.
Kristersson’s right-wing alliance, meanwhile, is projected to take 173 seats, according to figures released by the Swedish Election Authority.
The figures are not yet final, as election officials still have to complete the formal certification of the results. The process is expected to be concluded over the weekend.
Andersson has moved quickly to begin discussions with the Left Party, Centre Party and Green Party as she seeks to put together a government.
However, reaching an agreement may prove difficult because the parties have differences over a number of issues, including taxation. Sweden’s political system is built around two broad blocs, each made up of four parties, and the country has a long history of coalition and minority governments.
The difficulty of forming an administration has been seen in previous elections. Following the 2022 vote, it took 37 days for a government to be formed, while negotiations after the 2018 election continued for 134 days.
Kristersson had led a conservative government backed by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats (SD). His right-wing alliance consisted of his Moderates, the Sweden Democrats, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals.
The Sweden Democrats had supported the centre-right government from outside the coalition, helping it pursue tougher migration rules. Kristersson had pledged to give the party cabinet positions if his side secured another term in office.
The election, however, brought an unexpected setback for the Sweden Democrats. The party recorded a fall in support of three percentage points compared with the 2022 election, marking the first time its support had declined since it entered parliament in 2010.
Vote counting began immediately after polling closed on Sunday evening and continued throughout the week.
On Wednesday, election committees turned to early ballots that had arrived late, together with votes cast by Swedes abroad that had not reached authorities by election day.
The final certified results will determine the next stage of Sweden’s political transition, with Andersson now holding talks with other opposition parties as efforts begin to establish the country’s next government.