The C leader must be tested as prime minister: "There are other possible ways forward"

Speaker Andreas Norlén announced during Thursday's press conference that the Center Party's party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist will be tried as prime minister. The Riksdag's vote will take place on Tuesday at 1 p.m.

If the C-leader is not voted through as prime minister, the probe mission will go to Ulf Kristersson (M), the Speaker announces. In that case, Kristersson will then have a week, but others can act at the same time, he emphasizes.

- I therefore also assume that others who want to become prime minister will continue to be active also during a possible probing period for Ulf Kristersson.

During the week, Norlén discussed with the party leaders on the phone.

In an SMS to DN, Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist writes:

"When I finished my probe mission on Monday, my message was clear: there is broad support for a policy in the middle, but the conditions for forming a middle government are lacking at the moment. The deadlocks between the parties remain. There is still a need for greater clarity regarding which government alternatives, not least, the Social Democrats are prepared to participate in. This would facilitate the work of moving forward with the formation of the government.

My assignment was never about becoming prime minister myself, but about investigating the possibilities for a central government under Magdalena Andersson's leadership. Therefore, we had seen it as natural that the Speaker now proposed Magdalena Andersson as Prime Minister or gave Ulf Kristersson the opportunity to probe.

After our talks, the speaker has made the assessment that the next step in the formation of the government is to propose me as prime minister. At the same time, I have stated that there are also other possible ways forward."

She writes that the Center Party will continue to take responsibility and contribute constructively to Sweden getting a government.

"Therefore, I have accepted to be tested as prime ministerial candidate for a central government consisting of the Center Party, the Social Democrats, the Christian Democrats, the Green Party and the Liberals," she concludes.

For 46 days, Sweden has been without a new government. Within S, internal concern is raised about how the party's leadership managed the government negotiations and in a recent survey by DN/Ipsos it appears that it is the Tidö parties that have a clear advantage over the red-greens. The moderates have received their highest rating in more than eight years in the opinion poll.