Sweden’s Lofven says he’s prepared to form coalition

Bloomberg

Sweden’s acting Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said that he’s prepared to try to form a broad coalition government after the opposition leader failed in his first attempt.
Lofven said he told parliament speaker Andreas Norlen on Monday that he’s ready
to lead talks on forming a
viable coalition to break an impasse after last month’s
inconclusive election.
“A cooperation between the two blocs would be best for Sweden,” Lofven said in parliament on Monday after the meeting with the speaker. “One can cooperate on the budget, on political issues, but it can also mean forming a common government.”
Sweden’s party leaders are meeting with the speaker again after Ulf Kristersson, the leader of the four-party opposition Alliance, on Sunday abandoned his attempts after almost two weeks of talks. The speaker is expected to make an announcement later on Monday on who will get the next try at forming a government.
Lofven said that he would like to hold talks with the
Center Party and Liberals, with a focus on bridging differences on labour market and business policy.
The leader of the nationalist Sweden Democrats, Jimmie Akesson, said on Monday that it wasn’t “unreasonable” that Lofven now is given a shot,
but that he should be given less time than the two weeks that Kristersson got and that a vote should soon be brought to parliament.