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TEHRAN, Jan 16 - A left-wing party in Sweden said Wednesday it won't oppose caretaker Prime Minister Stefan Lofven in attempting to form a center-left, minority government after a four-month deadlock to form a coalition.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - Two center-right parties already have agreed to abstain from voting against Lofven, who then can form a Social Democrat-led minority government, likely with the left-leaning Greens.
Jonas Sjostedt of the small Left Party said it would abstain in Friday's vote, saying the alternative would have been a center-right government, backed by the right-wing Sweden Democrats.
In Sweden, a prime minister can govern as long as there is no majority against the government leader. It means three parties will abstain from voting against Lofven on Friday and two — his own Social Democrats and the Greens — will vote for Lofven who now has 195 lawmakers behind him in the 349-seat Riksdagen. Majority is at 175 seats.
The parliamentary speaker is expected to nominate Lofven later Wednesday.
After Friday's vote, Lofven is expected to present his government.
Attempts to form a government have been done without the Sweden Democrats, which has neo-Nazi roots. Both the center-left and the center-right blocs have refused to cooperate with the party, which made great strides in the Sept. 9 election.
The September election produced a hung parliament with the left-leaning side and the center-right bloc securing about 40 percent of the vote each, leaving neither with a majority and paving the way for months of uncertainty and complex coalition talks.
The center-right opposition was left fuming.
"It seems Sweden will get a new left-leaning government," said Ulf Kristersson, leader of the second-largest party, the Moderates, which now would be in opposition. "It is an absurd coalition because the Center Party and the Liberals have been tricked into a government."
He noted the Center Party and the Liberals have "broken up" a center-right Alliance which had governed the country from 2006-2014.
Source: Reuters
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