Swedish speaker bets on opposition leader to break stalemate

Bloomberg

The speaker of parliament said he will nominate opposition leader Ulf Kristersson as the prime minister candidate next week to break the gridlock that has gripped Sweden since its inconclusive election two months ago.
At a press conference at parliament on Monday, Speaker Andreas Norlen said it’s important that the process is driven forward and that alternatives are tested in the legislature. A formal nomination will be made on November 12 and a vote could happen two days after, the speaker said.
Norlen has been leading group talks since last week to try to untie a political knot after neither of the two establishment blocs won a majority in September’s election. The vote saw a surge in support for the nationalist Sweden Democrats, a party with neo-Nazi roots which now sits as a king-maker in the middle.
Kristersson, who leads the conservative Moderate party, on Monday accepted the task and said he will aim to present a government based on the four-party Alliance’s policies. The Christian Democrats have already declared that they want to be part of the government, while he has invited the Center party and Liberals, he said.
“I’ll go to a vote in parliament under all circumstances,” Kristersson said at a press conference.