STOCKHOLM—Swedish Social Democrat leader Stefan Lofven has abandoned an attempt to form a government, extending a political deadlock almost two months after an inconclusive election and bringing the prospect of a snap vote nearer.
A caretaker administration under Lofven has run Sweden since voters delivered a hung parliament on Sept. 9, which tilted the balance of power to the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats. Neither Lofven’s center-left bloc nor the center-right group of parties has been willing to give the Sweden Democrats a say in policy due to its right-wing roots.
