Sweden's PM Ulf Kristersson Resigns After Left-Wing Bloc Wins Slim Majority

Sweden's conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced his resignation on Thursday, following a general election in which the left-wing opposition secured a narrow majority in parliament. In a letter to the speaker of parliament posted to social media, Kristersson requested to be relieved of his duties so that government formation work could begin immediately, noting that the speaker will lead the next steps. The four-party left-wing bloc, led by Magdalena Andersson's Social Democrats, holds a three-seat majority in the 349-seat parliament over Kristersson's right-wing alliance, which includes the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats. The margin was extremely tight: only around 50,000 votes separated the two sides in a country of 10.6 million people. Despite the left-wing victory, the bloc remains splintered over ideological differences, and Andersson now faces laborious negotiations to assemble a new government.