As sonderingsperson, Andersson is now responsible for trying to build a coalition of parties will to tolerate her as prime minister in a parliamentary vote. She has ten days before a new Speaker is appointed after the parliament opens, and she needs to return to brief the new Speaker on her progress.
"The new parliament's Speaker will then need to decide when the task needs to be assessed," she said.
The new Speaker will then decide whether to give an extension, choose another leader as sonderingsperson, or put her position as prime minister up for a parliamentary vote.
As Andersson starts the process, she faces total deadlock, with the Centre Party refusing even to meet with the Left Party, describing talks as "pointless" unless the Left Party begins by dropping its demand for ministerial positions.
The conflicting red lines of the Left Party and Centre Party showed no signs of weakening, with Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar in turn insisting that her party was willing to hold fast to its demand even if doing so forced a new election on Sweden.
At a press conference after meeting the Speaker of Parliament, the Social Democratic leader said she was ready to take responsibility for the election result and wanted to seek “broad cooperation”, refusing to comment on how she planned to resolve the contradictory red lines of the Centre Party and Left Party until she was appointed sonderingsperson – the party leader responsible for trying to build a government.
“First we have to see who gets the mandate to conduct exploratory talks. After that, I will start talking and negotiating with other parties," she said.
Andersson said she would contact six party leaders, implying she would speak to Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson but not Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson.
After meeting the speaker Dadgostar said she hoped to be part of a four-party government with its own majority.
“We will vote for a government that we ourselves are part of. We prefer a four-party government so that it can be effective,” she said after meeting Andreas Norlén, Speaker of the Swedish parliament.
The Left Party leader said the party would refuse to sit down with the others unless the talks concerned negotiations on forming a government, arguing that it was the Centre Party's position that was unreasonable.
“I appeal to them to come to the negotiating table if anything is to happen at all.”
According to Centre Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist, however, such a meeting is not conceivable at the moment.
“Since the purpose of the meeting is to negotiate a government, there isn’t much point in going to that meeting because we believe we cannot sit in government with the Left Party.”
She did not, however, answer when asked whether she could envisage some form of organised cooperation with the Left Party.
She urged the Social Democratic leader to seek support for “a stable government in the centre”.
She also said the Centre Party had made clear that it could sit in a government with the Liberals, Christian Democrats and Moderates.
Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch said it “feels reasonable” for Magdalena Andersson to receive the first mandate to conduct exploratory talks, since the Tidö parties do not have a majority.
“My task is to sit tight and see what possibilities there are. It is quite a complicated landscape.”
She did not consider it “game over for a blue-and-yellow alternative”, and when asked whether she could support or sit in a government with Magdalena Andersson, she answered no.
“We are not afraid of a new election. I can see how we could navigate one of those as well,” Busch said.
The Liberals will also vote against a Social Democrat-led government. Asked whether Liberal leader Simona Mohamsson and Magdalena Andersson had anything to say to each other, Mohamsson replied:
“No, she doesn’t need to call me.”
Simona Mohamsson also said she had not given up hope of a centre-right government.
“When the red-greens fail to put something together, the Centre Party is welcome to join the blue-and-yellow team.”
Speaker of Parliament Andreas Norlén is meeting the party leaders during the day, with the aim of giving one of them the mandate to try to form a government.
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