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Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has resigned after his ruling right-wing bloc was narrowly defeated by the centre-left opposition in the country’s general election.<\/b><\/p>\n
He made the announcement in a post on X on Thursday afternoon, after preliminary votes from Sunday’s election showed about 50,000 votes separated the two blocs in the country of about 10 million people.<\/p>\n
Opposition parties led by Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democrats look set to win 176 seats in the 349-seat Riksdag, Sweden’s parliament. <\/p>\n
Kristersson, a conservative, had been supported in government by the anti-immigration hard-right Sweden Democrats (SD), and had promised them cabinet jobs if he won the election.<\/p>\n
His right-wing bloc looks set to win 173 seats in the Riksdag, according to data from the Swedish Election Authority. <\/p>\n
The results will be subject to formal certification in the coming days and are expected to finalised this weekend.<\/p>\n
In Sweden, there are two major political blocs – with four parties on the right and four on the left, so Swedes are used to coalition and minority governments.<\/p>\n
After a prime minister resigns, the Speaker of the Riksdag holds talks with all parties to proposes a candidate for the next leader, which is then voted on by MPs. <\/p>\n
“Now it is the speaker who will lead the next stage of the way to a new government. I am herewith requesting that I be relieved of the office of prime minister to allow that work to start immediately,” Kristersson’s statement read.<\/p>\n
In a speech posted on Instagram, Andersson said: “The Swedish people have voted for a new direction for our country”. <\/p>\n
The Social Democrats have regularly led Swedish governments since World War Two and have been the country’s dominant political force for much of the last century.<\/p>\n
Its leader, Andersson, is expected to return to power after four years in opposition, and has initiated talks with the other opposition parties – The Left Party, The Centre Party and The Green Party – about forming a government.<\/p>\n
But discussions could drag on due to major differences between the parties on issues such as taxes.<\/p>\n
After the 2022 election in Sweden, it took 37 days to form a government, while in 2018 it took 134 days. <\/p>\n
In his resignation, Kristersson said the opposition faced “complicated” conditions for forming the next government, “because the parties’ various statements before election day could pose obstacles”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n