(Bloomberg) -- After three months of gridlock, Sweden still doesn't have a government. Now, party leaders will get a three-week respite in the hope that they can come back with a solution.
Parliament speaker Andreas Norlen said on Wednesday that he will meet again with party leaders on Jan. 14 and called for a prime minister vote two days later. If that fails, a final and fourth premier vote would then be held on Jan. 23 in a last ditch effort to avoid a new election.
“An extra election would be a big failure for Swedish politics,” Norlen said at a press conference at parliament. There's a risk that confidence in the system will be “seriously damaged,” he said.
The Nordic country has historically had a government in place less than a week after the election but the rise of the nationalist Sweden Democrats has left the traditional blocs without a majority. Both sides are also reluctant to discuss any type of cooperation with the Sweden Democrats, a party with neo-Nazi roots.
The speaker is now seeking to loosen up the deadlock by setting dates for the final two votes that will need to be held before a snap election is triggered.
So far, both acting Social Democratic leader Stefan Lofven and Moderate leader Ulf Kristersson have lost votes.
| Read more: Sweden Moves Closer to New Election as Lofven Loses PM Vote (1) Swedish Political Mess Deepens as Talks on Broad Coalition Fail |
As leaders of the two biggest parties, it's up to Kristersson and Lofven to now take responsibility over the process, Norlen said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Amanda Billner in Stockholm at abillner@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jonas Bergman at jbergman@bloomberg.net, Niklas Magnusson
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