Swedish Social Democrats try to form new govt

Sweden's Social Democrat-led bloc officially began the struggle to form a government on Monday, a day after it ousted the center-right ruling coalition in parliamentary elections but fell short of a majority.

After eight years in power, conservative Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt conceded defeat after his bloc lost support with 142 seats in the 349-seat parliament while the opposition Social Democrat-led Red-Green won 158 seats.

The election saw a surge in support for the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats party that more than doubled its seats to 49 seats, from the previous election in 2010. However, it is unlikely to attain its goal of sharply reducing immigration because all other parties favor a liberal asylum policy.

This year, Sweden expects to accept up to 80,000 asylum-seekers from Syria, Eritrea, Iraq and Afghanistan, among other countries. Relative to Sweden's population, that's the biggest flow in the 28-nation European Union.

"There's something that is falling apart in Sweden," Social Democrat leader Stefan Lofven told cheering supporters at a rally in Stockholm after most of the votes had been counted. "Tonight Sweden has answered that we need change."

After declaring victory, Lofven, a former welder and trade union negotiator, said he would accept the challenge of forming a new government, a task expected to be officially handed to him by the speaker of parliament later on Monday.

Lofven said he would begin by talking to the environmentalist Green Party and was willing "to cooperate with other democratic parties that want to take responsibility for Sweden", possibly including the Left Party.

Lofven has ruled out working with the Sweden Democrats, but said that Sweden is "too small for conflicts".

But unless he's able to recruit one of the center-right parties in Reinfeldt's Alliance, he could face a situation where the Sweden Democrats and the Alliance jointly strike down key proposals.

"We are now Sweden's third biggest party," said Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson. The party entered parliament four years ago with 5.7 percent support.

The election result marks the end of an era of tax cuts and pro-market policies under Reinfeldt, who said he would also resign as leader of the conservative party. Many Swedes worried that his tax cuts have undermined the country's famed welfare system.

Government formation talks were expected to last days as Lofven tries to form a new majority coalition.

"Sweden is waking up to a new political landscape," Robert Bergqvist, chief economist at SEB, said in an analysis.

"Political authority and stability will be determined by the potential for informal cross-bloc cooperation and by inter-party agreements and resolve to isolate the Sweden Democrats."

AP-Reuters

(China Daily 09/16/2014 page12)