After Sweden’s first female prime minister resigns, what happens next?
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, who was in her new job for less than 8 hours, is about to be appointed again on Monday.
The 54-year-old former finance minister’s first stop as leader came to an abrupt end as the Green Party left the center-left coalition after its budget bill was defeated in parliament.
For outsiders, it was a shock to see Sweden’s first female leader resign on her first day. In fact, it is another reflection of how difficult it has become to govern the largest Nordic nation and a comedy by mistake of politicians who have failed to understand the constitutional consequences of their actions.
Here’s a guide to what to expect next:
Is that so for Andersson?
No. She will probably be mentioned next week. The resignation was a necessary formality after the Greens withdrew. The Speaker of the Riksdag nominated her again on Thursday after consulting with leaders of the eight parties in parliament. The Greens and two other parties have indicated that they will abstain from voting, but will not oppose her. This means that it is likely that she will be reappointed, in a vote scheduled for Monday, but not exactly with much support.
What a mess. How did we get here?
When Andersson’s predecessor as party leader for the Social Democrats, Stefan Lofven, unexpectedly announced in August that he would resign, his Minister of Finance has been widely seen as the apparent successor for seven years. But in order to secure the highest place, she needed to navigate a fragmented and changing political landscape, abolished by the rise of the nationalist Sweden Democrats.
Lofven had built its minority coalition with the Green Party on an agreement with two center parties and tacit support from the Left Party’s former communists. When Andersson was elected, the situation had changed: One of the center-right parties broke away from the agreement, and the left-wing parties took a more determined stance and demanded concessions from Andersson to accept her candidacy.
On the eve of her election, a last-minute deal secured her the support she needed to be appointed. But the crucial thing was that the result of a budget vote scheduled for the same day was less obvious, and when the center-right party closest to the government said it would not help get it approved, it was clear that a competing opposition proposal would set spending plans for 2022.
Wait. So did she have to resign at all?
While Andersson said she could still govern based on the opposition’s budget amendments, the prospect of defeat was harder for the Greens to swallow, and when it became clear that the government bill would lose, they immediately indicated that they might not want to continue in government.
This took Sweden into unknown territory and during the day the message came out via constitutional experts that an environmental party departure would trigger Andersson’s resignation and a new vote. Just before 5 pm, the leader of the Green Party announced his resignation and this forced Andersson’s hand.
At the same time, the latest debacle could easily have been avoided, according to the Speaker of the Riksdag Andreas Norlen. Had he known that the Greens could leave the government for the lost budget vote, he would have planned the prime minister’s vote for a later date, he said at a press conference where he called Wednesday’s events “deeply regrettable.”
Who rules the country now?
The power has returned to the caretaker’s cabinet led by Lofven, until a new one is in place. Andersson admitted that the process looked “messy” but said it was necessary because she did not want to lead a government “whose legitimacy can be questioned.” She now stands to lead a one-party cabinet.
Why is Sweden’s policy more turbulent now?
The emergence of the nationalist Sweden Democrats over the past decade has lost the support of the ordinary political parties and made it increasingly difficult to form stable coalitions.
The country’s political landscape has long been a two-horse race between a relatively united center-right and a bloc of left-wing parties led by the Social Democrats, but immigration has emerged as a major source of anxiety among voters and has complicated the picture. in a country that has been proud of its progressive values and multicultural society.
The nationalists were initially rejected universally because of their roots in the neo-Nazi movement and recurring incidents in which party representatives expressed racist views. But as their support has grown, some parties are determined to keep the Sweden Democrats out of government at all costs. Others have opened the door and want to get involved in the new reality.
Is it an election in less than 10 months? Will it fix things?
Polls suggest that neither the Social Democratic-led constellation nor the Conservative-Nationalist camp has a clear lead at this point.
Surveys also show that politics for crime, migration and integration are still among the highest priorities for Swedish voters, and in the election, scheduled for September 11, 2022, the growing political instability can help nationalists get a shot at power. Over the past year, traditional right-wing politicians have accepted that they may need to conclude an agreement to give the anti-immigrant power to speak out in government.
At the same time, the Social Democrats hope that Magdalena Andersson’s high approval will withstand her disastrous start and that she can lead the party to another election victory.