Sweden's Speaker Tasks Andersson With Exploring New Government

Sweden's parliamentary speaker, Andreas Norlen, has asked opposition leader Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democrats to explore the formation of a new government, following the centre-left's victory in Sunday's election.

Norlen told a press conference that Andersson had confirmed she was prepared to take on the task. Her appointment as the person to test the ground for a new administration comes after Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of the right-wing Moderates announced his resignation on Thursday, following the narrow loss suffered by his four-party bloc.

Andersson had said earlier on Friday that she was ready to begin the work of forming a government. She now faces the difficult challenge of uniting Sweden's four centre-left parties, some of which have indicated they are unwilling to govern together or to support an administration they are not part of.

The coming negotiations will test whether the centre-left can translate its slim election win into a workable governing coalition.