Social Democrat Magdalena Andersson submitted her resignation on Wednesday after less than 12 hours in the top job due to the Green Party quitting their two-party coalition, fueling political uncertainty.
Sweden’s first female prime minister, Andersson said she had communicated to the speaker of parliament that she desired to be appointed prime minister again as the head of a single-party government, and the probability of that happening seemed fairly strong taking into consideration the support she received from other parties.
The Green Party quit following the parliament’s rejection of the coalition’s budget bill.
At a news conference, Anderson said, “I have asked the speaker to be relieved of my duties as prime minister.” She added, “I am ready to be prime minister in a single-party, Social Democrat government.”
The Green Party said that it would support Anderson in any new confirmation vote in the parliament, while the Centre Party said it would abstain, which in practice equates to backing her candidacy. Furthermore, the Left Party has said it would back her.
Although these parties failed to agree on a budget, they are united in the aim to the Sweden Democrats, a populist, anti-immigration party, from having a role in government.
Annie Loof, the leader of the Centre Party took to Twitter and posted, “The Centre Party will open the door for her (Andersson) to be prime minister”. She added, “We will make sure, again, that Sweden can have a government that is not dependent on the Sweden Democrats.”
The opposition including right-wing Moderates and Christian Democrats are supported by the Sweden Democrats but are unable to command a majority in the parliament.
What next?
Andersson took over from Stefan Lofven as prime minister being the head of a minority two-party coalition backed by the Left and Centre parties. However, the alliance collapsed when the Centre Party refused to support the new government’s finance bill.
The parliament on Wednesday passed spending plans drawn up by three opposition parties, leading to the Green Party quitting the coalition and leaving Andersson no choice but to resign.
The speaker of parliament will most likely put Andersson forward for a new vote in the next few days.
Banking group Nordea said in a note, “We expect the Left, Green and Centre parties to abstain in the upcoming vote and therefore effectively approve Andersson as Prime Minister again. The note further stated, “In other words, the political chaos is over as long as nothing more unexpected happens.”
Regardless of who becomes prime minister, they will have to face major challenges, and a national election is due next September.
