New Swedish Prime Minister resigns on the first day of work, hoping for a speedy return
STOCKHOLM, 24 Nov (Reuters) – Sweden’s first female prime minister, Social Democrat Magdalena Andersson, resigned on Wednesday after less than 12 hours at the top job after the Green Party left its two-party coalition, which aroused political uncertainty.
But Andersson said that she had told the Speaker of the Riksdag that she hoped to be appointed Prime Minister again as head of a one-party government, and the prospects that this would happen seemed quite strong with support from other parties.
The Green Party dropped out after the Riksdag rejected the coalition’s budget bill.
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“I have asked the speaker to be relieved of my duties as Prime Minister,” Andersson said at a news conference. “I am ready to become prime minister of a one-party, Social Democratic government.”
The Green Party said that they would support her in every new confirmation vote in the Riksdag, while the Center Party promised to abstain, which in practice corresponds to the same as supporting her candidacy. The Left Party has also said that they would back her.
Although these parties could not agree on a budget, they agree in the goal of preventing the Sweden Democrats, a populist anti-immigrant party, from having a role in the government.
“The Center Party will open the door for her (Andersson) to become Prime Minister,” its leader Annie Loof said on Twitter.
“We will once again ensure that Sweden can have a government that is not dependent on the Sweden Democrats.”
The opposition right-wing Moderates and Christian Democrats are supported by the Sweden Democrats, but cannot get a majority in the Riksdag.
CHALLENGES
Andersson took over as Prime Minister after Stefan Lofven as head of a minority two-party coalition with the support of the Left and Center Party. But that alliance collapsed when the Center Party refused to support the new government’s finance bill.
Parliament then adopted spending plans on Wednesday drawn up by three opposition parties, which prompted the Green Party to leave the coalition and left Andersson with no choice but to resign.
The Speaker of the Riksdag will now decide on the next step in the process of finding a new government, but will most likely present Andersson for a new vote in the coming days.
“We expect the left, green and center parties to cast their votes in the forthcoming vote and therefore in practice Andersson approves as prime minister again,” says the banking group Nordea in a note. “In other words, the political chaos is over as long as nothing more unexpected happens.”
Whoever becomes prime minister faces major challenges, and a national election is underway in September next year.
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The center-left and center-right blocs are basically locked in the opinion polls.
That it has taken so long for Sweden to get a female prime minister is embarrassing for many in a country that introduced universal suffrage 100 years ago and has long fought for gender equality.
Neighboring Norway got its first female leader 40 years ago. Sri Lanka was the first country to elect a female Prime Minister in 1960.
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Reporting by Simon Johnson and Johan Ahlander; Further reporting by Anna Ringström; Edited by Niklas Pollard, Alison Williams and Gareth Jones
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