Sweden: still no new government
The Swedish Social Democrat Magdalena Andersson has announced that her party's exploratory talks with the Left Party have failed. Although the centre-left bloc secured a narrow majority in the recent parliamentary election the attempts to form a government failed after the Left Party voted for Andreas Norlén of the Moderates, the long-serving Speaker of the Riksdag. The Swedish press takes stock.
Left piling on the pressure
Dagens Nyheter wonders:
“On the whole, there is a tendency to overestimate the importance of the parliamentary speaker. The formation of a government depends for the most part on the distribution of seats and the parties' ability to manage this. ... [Chair of the Left Party] Nooshi Dadgostar clearly wants to show that she is serious about her demand for ministerial posts. She is not willing to compromise until this demand has been met. And she is prepared to put pressure on the Social Democrats to achieve her goals. ... There are in fact two paths to a new government: either the Social Democrats and the Moderates reach an agreement – or the four opposition parties reach an agreement.”
Andersson not up to the task
For Svenska Dagbladet, Andersson's failure was inevitable:
“When it comes to governance – from setting an agenda on policy issues and appointing capable ministers to involving other parties, the Social Democrats have been overtaken by the Moderates. ... During the election campaign, the Social Democrats' leadership tried to gloss over all these problems. Now, however, reality has caught up with them. Magdalena Andersson leads a party that lacks the competence to govern, has a programme devoid of substance and few allies. Under such circumstances, she should not be aspiring to lead the country.”