Economic policy continues to divide opposition

Any further talks will be conducted by the party leaders themselves.

The reason for the stoppage in negotiations is the refusal of the Left Party to concede on economic policy issues, Green Party negotiator Mikaela Valtersson told the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspaper.

She characterized the Left’s position as “a huge disappointment”.

Valtersson has spent the last few days negotiating with Thomas Östros of the Social Democrats and the Left Party’s Ulla Andersson.

The three serve as economic policy spokespeople for their respective parties and nothing had leaked from their talks until word emerged that the talks had broken off on Thursday.

The Left’s Andersson fears that the Green Party doesn’t want the Left included in any future red-green governing coalition and that the Greens are therefore “looking for problems”.

She is “baffled and disappointed” over the Green Party’s behaviour, describing the mood of her talks with Östros and Valtersson as “sometimes good, sometimes slightly irritating”.

Östros on the other hand, said that he still has hope and that the discussions have been constructive and that there is “a good basis for continuation”.