Swedish conservatives give up on chance to form government

The leader of the centre-right Moderates party in Sweden is giving up on his chance to form a new government.

Ulf Kristersson said on Thursday that he had concluded that 175 members of the parliament would vote against him, making a stable government impossible.

Kristersson had been tasked on Tuesday by parliament president Andreas Norlen with examining the likelihood that he could bring together a new coalition government.

The political turmoil was triggered when the government under Social Democrat Stefan Lofven was toppled in a vote of no confidence.

Norlen must now find a new candidate who could be accepted by the Riksdag as prime minister.

It is very likely that Lofven himself will now be given the task of conducting exploratory talks.