Swedish PM asks Parliament Speaker to form new government

Stockholm: Stefan Lofven, Sweden's Social Democratic prime minister since 2014, has asked the country's parliament speaker to find a new government.

Lofven became the first Swedish leader ever to lose a confidence vote in parliament a week ago.

He didn't call for an early election as the Swedish Constitution allows him to. He is formally stepping down but will continue in a caretaker role until a new government can be formed.

Its speaker since 2018, Andreas Norlen, will ask party leaders who may be able to form a government. He he alone decides which of the party leaders can begin these talks.

It is expected that Lofven, who heads Sweden's largest party with 100 of Riksdagen's 349 seats, will start these talks.

His Cabinet, a Social Democratic-Green coalition, is a minority government that has relied on votes from the small Left Party to pass laws.

The no-confidence motion against Lofven was called by the nationalist Sweden Democrats party -- which has been criticizing the Social Democratic Party for years -- but it ultimately succeeded because the Left Party withdrew its support from the government over proposed legislation to tackle a housing shortage.