Speaker gives Swedish Soc Dem leader 48 hours to get backing for govt

The speaker of Sweden's parliament said on Monday he would give Social Democrat leader 48 hours to persuade the Left Party to back his candidacy for the premiership before calling a vote.

"I'm giving them 48 hours to to solve these problems and I assume they will do all they can to reach a solution," speaker Andreas Norlen told reporters.

The centre-right Centre, Liberal and Green parties have agreed a deal to give Lofven a second term in office, but the Left Party, whose support the former welder needs to be elected, said they wanted assurances they would have a voice in policy in return for their support.

(Reporting by Stockholm Newsroom; editing by Niklas Pollard)