Incoming Swedish PM introduces new center-right coalition government
By Stefan Brunhoun
26 September 2017, 18:09pm
Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven on Sunday announced the formation of a new centre-right “red-green” coalition between his Social Democrats (SD) and the Centre Party (C). After two years in power in coalition with the left-wing Green Party (SAP) coalition, and in the first year of the minority government with the right-wing Sweden Democrats (SD), he said the centre-right coalition he and his Social Democrats have been leading since 2013 had no other options.
The Swedish Democratic Party (S) has now won the largest number of seats in parliament.
The Social Democrats (SD) have won three parliamentary mandates but have been unable to form a new government.
The Centre Party (C) entered parliament on Tuesday in the aftermath of the May election, when the three parties represented in the election – the Social Democratic Party, the People’s Party and the Green Party – merged to form the Green-Centre Party (VG) coalition. As a result, the Social Democrats received only 14 parliamentary mandates – less than 10 percent of the seats in parliament – and the Centre Party nine, while the People’s Party secured 13 mandates and the Social Democrats had just seven seats in parliament.
In the election campaign, the centre-right parties put the centre-left Social Democrat party as the main opponent against them. In recent weeks, the centre-left party appeared increasingly likely to have a majority in parliament, and the centre-right parties more and more on the back foot: After the elections they had won 33 seats in the 349-seat parliament, compared with 26 for the Left Party (S) and 28 for the Center Party (C).
The center-left Social Democrats, who were on average the third-largest party, thus appeared in a weak position; but the centre-right, more likely to come third in the general election, would only have eight or nine seats, and the far-right Sweden Democrats – represented by three MPs, of whom one is deputy party leader Anna Kinberg Batra – would be the largest party, with 16