A Centre Party-SD government deal remains a distant prospect in Sweden, despite a new invitation to talks from Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson. Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer said on Sunday 18 October that he sees no indication of a significant change in the political positions that have prevented the formation of a centre-right government.
Speaking on Swedish public broadcaster SVT’s Agenda, Strömmer, a member of the Moderate Party (Moderaterna), acknowledged that the parties on the right share several political priorities. But he said the fundamental obstacle remains the Centre Party’s refusal to cooperate with the Sweden Democrats.
His comments came just hours after Åkesson published an open letter inviting Centre Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist to discuss possible ways out of Sweden’s political deadlock.
Åkesson invites the Centre Party to talks
The invitation is the latest attempt to find a solution to the government crisis that has followed Sweden’s parliamentary election on 13 September.
In an open letter reported by SVT, Jimmie Åkesson, leader of the Sweden Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna), offered to meet Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist, leader of the Centre Party (Centerpartiet), for talks about the parliamentary situation.
He argued that the country could not afford an indefinite political stalemate and invited the Centre leader to discuss the disagreements separating their parties.
“With this letter, I invite you to a meeting and an open discussion about the parliamentary situation and the obvious obstacles that exist, not least between our respective parties.”
Åkesson also reiterated that the Sweden Democrats have not abandoned their main condition for participating in government formation: the party will either receive ministerial posts in the next government or remain in opposition.
That position leaves little room for the Centre Party, which has consistently rejected cooperation with the Sweden Democrats and opposes allowing them into government.
According to SVT, the Centre Party’s press office declined to comment on the invitation on Sunday.
Strömmer sees little prospect of a breakthrough
Despite Åkesson’s initiative, Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer does not believe the parliamentary situation has fundamentally changed.
Speaking on SVT’s Agenda, as reported by TT, Strömmer said that although the Centre Party shares several policy positions with the centre-right parties, those similarities are not enough to overcome its opposition to the Sweden Democrats.
“I don’t feel that there has been any dramatic shift that changes the fundamental starting point.”
Strömmer argued that there is considerable common ground among parties on the right, creating potential opportunities for cooperation.
But he acknowledged that their differences over the Sweden Democrats are the main reason such a government remains difficult to imagine.
The question of whether that disagreement can be overcome, he suggested, ultimately belongs to the parties themselves.
A meeting between Åkesson and Thand Ringqvist would therefore not necessarily indicate a change in the Centre Party’s position, particularly while the Sweden Democrats continue to insist on entering government.
Sweden’s government talks remain deadlocked
The discussion about a possible centre-right government comes after Magdalena Andersson, leader of the Social Democrats (Socialdemokraterna), was rejected as prime minister by the Riksdag on Thursday 15 October.
Her proposed single-party Social Democratic government received 99 votes in favour and 248 against, with two MPs absent.
The official parliamentary vote confirmed that Andersson could not secure the support of the other parties that had backed her as their preferred prime minister.
Together, the Social Democrats, Centre Party, Left Party (Vänsterpartiet) and Green Party (Miljöpartiet) hold 176 of the Riksdag’s 349 seats. But their disagreements over government participation have prevented them from agreeing on a coalition.
The Left Party demands ministerial posts, while the Centre Party refuses to accept a government that includes Left Party ministers.
On the other side, the outgoing Tidö parties hold 173 seats, leaving them short of a parliamentary majority.
A government led by Ulf Kristersson, the outgoing prime minister and Moderate Party leader, would therefore need a different parliamentary arrangement to return to office.
The Centre Party could potentially play a decisive role in such an arrangement, but its opposition to the Sweden Democrats remains a major obstacle.
The Speaker will announce the next step on Monday
The next decision now belongs to Speaker of Parliament Andreas Norlén, who has been consulting the parliamentary parties since Andersson’s defeat.
According to an official announcement from the Riksdag, Norlén will hold a press conference on Monday 19 October at 13:30 to explain how the government formation process will proceed.
He may give Kristersson the opportunity to explore forming a government, assign the task to another party leader or return to Andersson.
The parliamentary arithmetic remains unchanged, and neither side has yet demonstrated that it can assemble a government acceptable to the Riksdag.
Åkesson’s invitation has introduced another possible channel for discussions. But with neither the Centre Party nor the Sweden Democrats signalling a change in their central demands, it has yet to produce a credible new government alternative.
For now, the possibility of cooperation between the two parties remains more a subject of political discussion than an agreed path towards forming Sweden’s next government.
