Why did Sweden’s first prime minister resign?
On Wednesday, Magdalena Andersson was appointed prime minister, but she resigned shortly afterwards, according to BBC News.
- She resigned seven hours later because her budget did not go through and her coalition partner, the Green Party, left the government.
- Instead, Parliament voted on the budget of the opposition party, which is anti-immigration and far-right, according to the report.
- – For me, it is about respect, but I also do not want to lead a government where there may be reasons to question its legitimacy, Andersson says. NBC News.
- Her coalition partner also could not accept the budget drawn by the far right.
- Andersson, who was Minister of Finance before she was appointed, hopes to become Prime Minister again, but as a one-party government leader this time.
Per NBC News, Sweden has been Europe’s most progressive country but has never had a woman in a political top position.
- “If women are only allowed to vote but are never elected to the highest office, democracy is not complete,” said Amineh Kakabaveh, according to NBC News.
Speaker Andreas Norlen said he would contact all eight party leaders to discuss the situation and will announce future plans on Thursday, according to NPR.
The Green Party is prepared to support Andersson in a new vote, even though it was the party’s best to withdraw her support after the defeat against the budget proposal, the report said.