Sweden left in turmoil as prime minister loses confidence vote

Sweden’s prime minister has lost a vote of confidence in parliament after an election this month stripped him of his majority.

Stefan Lofven, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, who has been prime minister for four years, will continue in a caretaker role until a new government can be formed that has the command of the Riksdagen.

MPS voted 204 to 142 against Mr Lofven, while three were absent.

The vote was mandatory after the 9 September general election delivered a hung parliament.

Though Mr Lofven remains optimistic he may be able to form a government, the vote means Sweden faces weeks of political uncertainty.

Both main political blocs in the parliament have refused to co-operate with the antiimmigrant Sweden Democrats, which made great strides in the election. Neither the left-leaning bloc led by the Social Democrats nor the Moderates-led centreright opposition managed to secure a majority in the 349seat parliament.

In the election, the Social Democrats got 28.3 per cent of the vote while the Moderate Party received 19.8 per cent and the Sweden Democrats 17.5 per cent.

The centre-left and centreright blocs control respectively 144 and 143 seats, while the Sweden Democrats have 62 MPS in the assembly.

Andreas Norlen, a member of the centre-right Moderates who was elected on Monday as speaker, is charged with trying to find someone in parliament who may be able to command a majority and to form a government.

He alone decides which of the party leaders can start these talks.

Mr Lofven remained optimistic he could form a governing coalition, but stopped short of saying with whom.

“I am available for talks,” Mr Lofven said after the vote.

Mr Lofven ruled out having any contacts with the Sweden Democrats, saying “time after time their connections to racist and Nazi organisations have been exposed”.

The prime minister, who came to power in 2014, also said he did not believe that fresh elections were something voters wanted.

The Sweden Democrats only entered parliament in 2010.

In the years since, the organisation has become the country’s third-largest party in a political success story.

Officially the party welcomes supporters from all backgrounds, but its history means it has been shunned by the mainstream political parties since it first won seats.

The Sweden Democrats have been shaken by some controversy, with several party members expelled in recent years for racist behaviour or links to right-wing groups.