Swedish conservative leader asked to attempt forming new government

Stockholm (dpa) - Swedish conservative leader Ulf Kristersson was given the nod on Tuesday to attempt to form a new government.Parliament speaker Andreas Norlen made the announcement after a second round of consultations with party leaders."It‘s a matter of investigating the possibility of forming a government that can be tolerated by parliament," Norlen told reporters.A week ago, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, leader of the Social Democrats, lost a confidence vote, setting in motion efforts to find a new candidate for prime minister.The September 9 general election resulted in a deadlock between the two main political alliances. Neither has a majority in the 349-seat legislature, complicating the formation of a new government.Kristersson was proposed by the four-party centre-right coalition known as the Alliance that has 143 seats compared to 144 seats for Lofven‘s left-leaning bloc.Both have said they will not cooperate with the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats that hold the balance of power with 62 seats.Kristersson was given two weeks to form a government but could report back earlier to the speaker.