Sweden’s legislators elect the country’s first female prime minister – again
By Rob Picheta, Henrik Pettersson and Lauren Kent, CNN
Swedish legislators have once again elected Magdalena Andersson to the role of Prime Minister – days later she resigned from the post – and she is once again set to become the first female leader in the country’s history.
Andersson was first elected prime minister last week, but she resigned the same day after her budget proposal was cut and the coalition government she hoped to lead collapsed.
Now she has once again been appointed to the role of Sweden’s Riksdag, and intends to form a minority government of only her own party.
She will officially start the role after a meeting with the country’s king on Tuesday – a stage she did not reach last week.
Andersson was appointed by a razor-sharp vote in Sweden’s divided parliament. While 101 MPs voted for her, 173 voted against and 75 abstained. According to the country’s rules, a new prime minister can be elected as long as a majority of legislators do not vote against them.
As prime minister, Andersson was preceded by 33 men. She will replace Stefan Löfven, who resigned as both the country’s prime minister and leader of the Social Democrats earlier this month and has since led an interim government.
But her position will once again be uncomfortable, given Sweden’s fragmented political landscape. Andersson’s Social Democrats have 100 seats in parliament with 349 seats, which means that the party still has to rely on support from other parties to pass legislation.
Her predecessor Löfven ruled by performing a complex juggling to secure support from both the Left and Center Party in the Riksdag, which was not part of the coalition government. But the Center Party withdrew from support for Andersson’s budget last week and lowered her first attempt to become a leader.
After the new vote on Monday, the Swedish Social Democrats tweeted: “We must break segregation and push back violence, create the green jobs of the future by taking the lead in climate change and regaining control of welfare. Led by Magdalena Andersson – our Prime Minister! ”
She must present her government appointments to the king on Tuesday in a formal meeting called the cabinet.
Andersson has been Sweden’s Minister of Finance since 2014. She has previously worked as Deputy Director General at the Swedish Tax Agency.
The-CNN-Wire
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