Sweden’s researchers turn to temporary fixes as political gridlock continues

With Sweden still lacking a government almost three months after a parliamentary election, the country’s research leaders have started to call for short-term measures to be put in place so that research does not falter amid the uncertainty.

Göran Hansson, secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, said that the present gridlock and political uncertainty could pose problems for Swedish contributions to European projects and programmes. He wants to see a temporary solution put in place. “We need a new research proposition that bridges to 2020,” he said.

A centre-left coalition led by the Social Democratic Party won 144 seats out of 349 in the election on 9 September, while a centre-right coalition led by the Moderate Party won 143 seats. This left neither with a majority and paved the way for months of complex negotiations. Both sides refuse to cooperate with the far-right Sweden Democrats, who won 62 seats.