STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden’s parliament voted as expected on Friday against giving Social Democrat Stefan Lofven’s centre-left coalition a second term in office, bringing a fresh election closer after three months of political deadlock.
September’s vote produced a hung parliament and the centre-left and centre-right blocs have been unable to reach a deal on a new government that would keep the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats from being able to have a say in policy.
Parliament voted 200 to 116 against giving Lofven, currently caretaker prime minister, a new term. It had already voted once for Lofven’s ouster in a mandatory vote in September, but has also rejected centre-right leader Ulf Kristersson as prime minister, leaving the way forward unclear.
“We are heading towards a new election at high speed,” Ulf Kristersson, leader of the Moderate Party, said just before the vote.
Kristersson was rejected by parliament in a vote last month in which the Centre and Liberal parties – nominally part of his four-party centre-right Alliance bloc – refused to back him.
Centre leader Annie Loof said this week she remained determined to keep the Sweden Democrats, a populist party with roots in the white supremacist fringe, from having an influence on policy, which could happen were a minority Alliance government to take power.
Parliament can reject two more candidates for prime minister before a new election must be called.
(Reporting by Johan Ahlander and Johan Sennero; writing by Simon Johnson; Editing by Niklas Pollard)
