Last Wednesday, Andersson, the leader of the Social Democrats, was accepted by parliament as the new prime minister. Her appointment was celebrated as a milestone for Sweden, which has fought for gender equality for decades but has never had a female prime minister. In neighboring Norway it was already 40 years ago and a female leader is no longer an exception in other neighboring countries.
A few hours after her nomination, the vote on the 2022 budget went awry. Andersson did not get enough support for her plans, after which an alternative, right-wing budget was passed, with the support of far-right Sweden Democrats. That went too far for Andersson’s coalition partner, the Environmental Party. The departure of the coalition partner forced Andersson to resign and request a new vote. That followed today.
No majority
As a result, her party now only forms the government. Although the Social Democrats are the largest in parliament, they are far from having a majority. Andersson will therefore have to go to the farmer to gather support for every decision.
This was not a problem before her appointment. In Sweden, a prime minister can be appointed as long as the majority is not against it. Andersson previously reached an agreement with other parties not to vote against her nomination.
The political clashes are a harbinger of the election campaign that will erupt next year. Andersson hopes with the premier bonus to prevent her party, which lost many seats in 2018, from shrinking again. In the wings are the centre-right Moderate Union Party and the ultra-nationalist Sweden Democrats waiting to take power.
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