Sweden’s first female prime minister returns to her post days after her departure
Andersson, whose party has 100 seats out of 349 in parliament, said at a press conference: “Like all minority governments, we will seek cooperation with other parties in parliament, and I see good opportunities to do so.
Source: TT NEWS AGENCY
“The Social Democrats have the largest party group in the Riksdag by a wide margin.
“We also have a long tradition of cooperation with others and are ready to do what is needed to lead Sweden forward.”
Ulf Kristersson, leader of the right-wing opposition Moderaterna, described the incoming administration as a “nine-month guardian government” and said that it will not be able to achieve much before the election that will take place next September.
Andersson will need to lead one of Sweden’s weakest governments in recent decades, and govern with a budget formulated in part by three opposition parties, including the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats, whose success over the past decade is at the heart of Sweden’s political turbulence. .
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Parliament adopted budget amendments tabled by the opposition last week which drastically reshaped the government’s spending plans.
The Social Democrats have been in power since 2014 with the support of parties united by little other than their desire to prevent the Sweden Democrats from influencing politics.
The center-right opposition has struggled to gather enough votes to form a majority government and opinion polls suggest there may be some change in the political calculation in the next election.
Andersson will face major challenges, including gang violence in the suburbs of big cities, health care affected by the pandemic and a promised transition to a zero-emission economy.