Sweden’s political left and right face a Friday deadline to win Centre Party backing and end weeks of deadlock after September’s tight election. The centre-left, led by Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson, won a slim majority but has been unable to agree on how to share power, while caretaker Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is seeking to form a centre-right government. The Centre Party last week gave both leaders an ultimatum to explain how they could govern without support from political fringes and is expected to choose a side in the coming days. Andersson must either persuade the Left Party to abandon its demand for cabinet positions or convince the Centre Party to accept a coalition involving Sweden’s former communist party. Centre leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist said the party would discuss policy with Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar but would not compromise on keeping the Left Party out of government. Kristersson must convince the Centre Party that the Sweden Democrats, whose roots lie in the neo-Nazi movement, would remain outside government and lack meaningful influence, while questions remain over how his bloc could pass a budget without their votes. If neither side succeeds, Sweden faces a fresh election within three months. Andersson supports higher healthcare and welfare spending, fairer taxation and a faster green industrial transition, while Kristersson’s bloc favours income-tax cuts and tougher law-and-order policies. The outcome could shape Sweden’s political direction for years, with the Social Democrats facing difficulty regaining power after their worst election result if they fail to form a government now, and the Centre Party risking voter and lawmaker backlash if it abandons its pledge not to work with the far right.