Just over 50 days have passed since the election. Two prime ministerial votes have been cancelled. And Sweden, by all accounts, has not taken a single step closer to a new government.
Whose fault is it?
It is popular to blame the center parties. They dream of a centrist government and have red lines against the Left Party. Why can't they just respect Nooshi Dadgostar's voters?
Because they have their own, of course. And they don't want V in the government, preferably not giving the party any influence at all.
And the fact that C's middle solution is not possible is not due to any kind of natural law, but to other people's red lines. L and KD refuse to cooperate with a social democratic prime minister. MP wants nothing to do with KD. Neither S nor M want to play with anyone else unless they get the best job.
Policy matters first? Compromises for the good of the country? No, Swedish politics is driven by a different logic. The centrist parties do not stand out because of their red lines, but because they are actually prepared to talk to parties both on the right and on the left.
Nor is it the absence of a government that is most striking. The situation is tricky. The Swedish people were offered a ready-made team - Tidögänget - and refused. A new government requires that some party bow to an ultimate demand.
So it would not be strange with tough night manglings, party leaders who leave the negotiating table and slam the door as they leave. What is remarkable, however, is that they didn't even get there.
And whoever is looking for someone responsible for this has a hard time not fixing their eyes on Magdalena Andersson.
She entered the election as a prime ministerial candidate. She declared herself victorious. Now she does not want to take on probe missions.
And it's clear: Nooshi Dadgostar is not making it easy for her. She refuses to discuss policy unless C first says she will get a ministerial post. Then it is difficult to negotiate a government program.
But then the intended prime minister may invite to talks. If only C and MP come, she can produce a program with them - show the voters what Dadgostar says no to.
Instead, the Social Democrats have made it their most important demand that the M-leader should probe.
It is clearly damaging to trust when a politician runs and hides from responsibility - and easy to understand the falling numbers for S and Andersson himself that are now visible.
Anders Ygeman, S's spokesperson for government formation issues, gave the impression in Sunday's Agenda that it is not true that no steps have been taken towards a new government. In fact, there are lots of conversations going on at different levels and in different constellations: The silence around them indicates that they are trusting, he claimed.
For S's sake, one has to hope that he is telling the truth.
Because time is running out.
But isn't it only in the fourth prime minister vote that it's serious? Only when one of those ultimate requirements falls?
Perhaps.
V's kamikaze attitude requires the S leader to shift up. Not that she's hiding.
But then there is also no time left to slam doors and then come back to the negotiating table for a second turn. After four unsuccessful prime ministerial votes, an additional election awaits. According to the opinion polls, Tidöhögern would march back into Rosenbad.
It would be sad for everyone who wants a government that takes the climate issue seriously and puts an end to the deportation policy. It would be a gigantic failure for S. And it would be a disaster for the Swedish left.
Sweden is today a right-leaning country. The red-greens are in election after election stuck at just under 43 percent. It has been a quarter of a century since they gathered a majority. Their only asset is a social democracy that has succeeded in portraying itself as a world champion in governmental ability and that has managed to build alliances also on the right.
