In the 2026 Swedish general election, no political group or party won an outright majority. The opposition parties won a narrow parliamentary majority, securing 176 of the Riksdag's 349 seats, compared with 173 for the Tidö parties. Following the result, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced his resignation and Social Democratic Party leader Magdalena Andersson began negotiations with the opposition parties over the formation of a new government. However, initial negotiations were not successful.
Parliamentary situation
The table below lists parties' representation in the Riksdag as of the 2026 election. NameLeaderSeatsSSwedish Social Democratic PartyMagdalena Andersson99MModerate PartyUlf Kristersson70SDSweden DemocratsJimmie Åkesson62VLeft PartyNooshi Dadgostar30CCentre PartyElisabeth Thand Ringqvist25KDChristian DemocratsEbba Busch22MPGreen PartyAmanda LindDaniel Helldén22LLiberalsSimona Mohamsson19
Formation process On 17 September, with the 2026 Swedish general election vote count completed, Prime Minister Kristersson announced that he had handed in his resignation to the speaker to allow the process of forming a new government to begin, with his government assuming a care-taker role pending the completion of the process. On 18 September, Speaker Andreas Norlén formally gave Magdalena Andersson the assignment of forming a new government.
First Social Democrat government formation attempt
Following the Prime Minister's resignation, Aftonbladet sources reported that the Centre Party only saw two options for a government, one consisting of themselves, the Social Democrats and the Greens, supported by the Left Party, who would be given service positions in the government chancellery in exchange, and one consisting solely of the Social Democrats. Ida Gabrielsson, vice-leader of the Left Party, commented on the reports, referring to the single-party alternative as unrealistic and calling for talks to form a government including all four opposition parties. That evening, Svenska Dagbladet sources reported that the Centre Party had declined an invitation by Magdalena Andersson to four-party talks, being unwilling to participate until the Left Party dropped their demand to be included in a government.
On 20 September, Gabrielsson stated in an interview that the Left Party was prepared to stand firm in their demand to be included in the government.
Speaker election and impact on broader government formation efforts After Magdalena Andersson was tasked with forming a new government, a week passed by without any success in beginning talks. A new mandate period began on 28 September, and the election of a speaker and vice-speakers were also held on that day. The Social Democrats sought to have Johanna Haraldsson of their party become speaker, which received the support of the Greens and Centre Party; however, the Left Party supported Andreas Norlén of the Moderates, who had held the position since 2018. The Left Party stated that they had confidence in Norlén personally and in his ability to handle government formation talks, and that they believed it would grant stability and that he would be able to act as a neutral outside voice during negotiations between the opposition parties. Norlén was re-elected as speaker.
Andersson responded to the decision by returning to the speaker the task of government formation unfulfilled, stating that she saw no possibility of forming a government as things stood. The Greens stated that the Left Party's decision would make government formation more difficult, and that they were "disappointed". Social Democrats parliamentary group leader Lena Hallengren stated that the Left Party's decision was a "betrayal". Centre Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist accused the Left Party of violating an agreement between the opposition parties to jointly nominate one of the Social Democrats as speaker, while the Greens stated there had been discussions but no agreement. The Left Party's Ida Gabrielsson denied that her party had entered into any agreement, calling the situation "the most dishonest theatre" she had ever experienced. The Left Party also reaffirmed that they wanted to see an Andersson-led government.
After being re-elected as Speaker, Norlén called the party leaders to a new series of one-on-one meetings on 30 September to discuss government formation. The Social Democrats, Centre Party and Greens stated that Ulf Kristersson should be given the task of government formation. Kristersson had the day before stated that it is up to the Speaker to test where the parliamentary majority lies, and that he would be ready to form a government if the parliamentary prerequisites to do so were there, but also commented "last I checked there were four parties proclaiming victory on election night, so that is where the parliamentary prerequisites should exist". The Liberals, Christian Democrats and Sweden Democrats stated that Andersson should face a Riksdag vote on becoming Prime Minister.
Election of Prime Minister
The Swedish constitution creates a system known as "negative parliamentarism", wherein "a prime ministerial candidate does not need to have the support of a majority, they only need to show that they do not have a majority of parliament (175 members) against them." In other words, the vote of confidence in Sweden is in practice a vote of no confidence, wherein the burden of proof is on the opposition. Political parties can symbolically "abstain" from the vote, which in practice acts as a yes vote and shows that the party tolerates, or tacitly approves, a government formation without the obligations that come with outright support.
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