STOCKHOLM – Sweden’s parliament voted to oust Prime Minister Stefan Lofven in a no – confidence motion on Monday, giving the Social Democrat leader a week to either resign and leave the speaker job to find a new government or call a quick election.
The nationalist Sweden Democrats had taken the opportunity to call for a vote last week after the former communist left party withdrew its support for the center-left government due to a plan to facilitate rent controls for newly built apartments.
Lofven’s shaky minority coalition with the Green Party has relied on support in parliament from two small center-right parties and the left party since a tough election in 2018.
When Parliament is inactivated, it is not clear who the speaker can turn to to form a new administration, while opinion polls suggest that the center-left and center-right blocs are evenly balanced, meaning that a quick election may not provide clarity.
A new government – or a caretaker regime – would only sit until a general election is scheduled for September next year. This is the first time a Swedish prime minister has ever been thrown out by a no-confidence motion from the opposition.
Source: sn.dk