Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven voted out

STOCKHOLM: Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven lost a noconfidence vote in parliament on Tuesday, with the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats threatening to block any new government unless they are given a say in policy.

The rise of the far right across Europe has forced many traditional parties into an uncomfortable choice of sharing power with populist forces or reaching out to long-standing opponents to keep them out.

Sweden, long seen as a bastion of liberal values and political stability, now faces the same choice with its centre-left and centre-right blocs evenly balanced after the September 9 election and the Sweden Democrats holding the balance of power.

“Now the excitement will really start,” said Ulf Bjereld, political scientist at Gothenburg University. “The parties will have to show their true colours now.” The Sweden Democrats have been shunned by all other parties since entering parliament in 2010, making any tieup unlikely.

But if there is no viable government after four attempts by the speaker, then a new election would have to be called within three months, with the main parties likely to face a similar dilemma again.

Voters delivered a hung parliament in the September 9 election when Lofven’s centre-left bloc won 144 seats, one more than the centre-right opposition Alliance.

The Sweden Democrats, a party that has its roots in the white supremacist fringe, got 62 seats and backed the Alliance in Tuesday’s vote, which was an obligatory test of the prime minister’s parliamentary support after an election.

A new government could take weeks or months — as was the case in Germany and Italy — to thrash out. The speaker will start discussions with party leaders on Thursday.

After Lofven’s ousting, the speaker of parliament is now seen turning to Ulf Kristersson, leader of the biggest Alliance party, the Moderates, to try to form a new administration. But lacking a majority, Kristersson needs support either from the Sweden Democrats, who want to freeze immigration and a vote on membership of the European Union, or the centre left. Neither choice looks viable. “If the Alliance parties choose to try to govern as the smallest bloc, then they make themselves totally dependent on the Sweden Democrats,” Lofven said.

The Sweden Democrats want a voice on immigration, welfare and crime policies as the price for supporting a new government.