Sweden's Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson gives a press conference at the Riksdagen, the Swedish parliament, after his meeting with the Speaker of the Parliament at the speaker's round to appoint a prime minister who will be tasked to form a new government.TIM ARO/AFP/Getty Images
Sweden’s Moderate Party leader, Ulf Kristersson, has been handed a mandate to try and form the country’s next government after a recent general election gave the right-wing bloc a majority, the speaker of parliament said on Monday.
“It was a quite simple decision,” Speaker Anders Norlen said, adding that he had not set a deadline for how long deliberations could last.
The Moderates, Sweden Democrats, Christian Democrats and Liberals won 176 seats in the 349-seat parliament, narrowly ahead of the centre-left’s 173 seats, according to the Swedish election authority.
Kristersson is widely expected to try to form a minority government, leaving one or two right-wing parties out while relying on their support in parliament.
The election marks a watershed in Swedish politics with the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, a party with roots in the white supremacist fringe, on the threshold of gaining influence over government policy.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.