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STOCKHOLM – Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven lost his vote of confidence on Tuesday after elections that deprived him of his majority and left the country with a shameful parliament.
Mr Lofven, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, who has been Prime Minister for four years, will continue to play the role of guardian until the formation of a new government to take command of the Parliament.
Legislators voted 204 to 142 against Lofven, while three abstained after the 9 September elections in which the left-wing bloc led by the Social Democrats The vote of no confidence was mandatory.
Lofven is still optimistic that he can form a government, but with neither the majority of parties nor the willingness to work with the Swedish Democrats, voting means that Sweden faces weeks of political uncertainty .
The Social Democrats obtained 28.3% of the votes, against 19.8% for the moderate party. Swedish democrats, who made great progress, took back 17.5 percent. The center-left controls 144 seats and the center-right holds 143 seats in Parliament, while the Swedish Democrats have 62 seats.
Andreas Norlen, a member of the center-right moderates, was elected Monday as a speaker and was asked to try to find a deputy who could command a majority and form a government. Mr Norlen has sole authority to determine which of the party leaders can initiate such negotiations.
Alternatively, one of the blocks could form a minority government, but this requires the cooperation of at least some members of the opposition and, in many cases, also requires concessions.
Lofven remains optimistic that he could form a ruling coalition, but stopped before saying who. "I am available for discussions," Lofven said after the censorship vote.
Lofven ruled out contact with Swedish Democrats, saying "their relations with racist and Nazi organizations have been exposed many times".
