STOCKHOLM, November 29 (Xinhua) – The Swedish Parliament once again elected Magdalena Andersson as the country’s Prime Minister on Monday, after she was elected and later resigned last week.
To be re-elected, Andersson only needed a majority of the 349 members of parliament to not vote against her. She was supported by 101, while 173 voted against her and 75 abstained, making her government the weakest since 1978.
But 54-year-old Andersson told a press conference that she was sure that her Social Democratic minority government was viable.
“We have a long tradition of cooperation with other parties and are prepared to do what is necessary to bring Sweden forward.”
She also said that her government would prioritize three areas: social welfare, the green transformation and tackling social segregation.
Andersson will announce his new cabinet on Tuesday and the new government will be formally appointed the same day in a meeting with the King of Sweden.
The Riksdag approved Andersson as Prime Minister on Wednesday, but she resigned seven hours later when the coalition partners Miljöpartiet decided to leave her government because the Riksdag approved the opposition’s budget.
Monday’s vote was also the third time this year that Parliament has had to appoint a prime minister. In July, Stefan Lofven was reappointed after dismissing him in a no-confidence vote.
Last Wednesday’s session came after Lofven resigned as leader of the Social Democrats and was replaced by Andersson, who since 2014 has been Minister of Finance in his government.
Sweden’s political turbulence is a result of the uncertain result of the 2018 election. Some parties are also doing their utmost to block ideological opponents from exercising any influence.
For years, Sweden had two blocs: one consisting of the Social Democrats and the Green Party, with passive support from the Left Party, and a liberal-conservative bloc consisting of the Moderates, Christian Democrats, Liberals and the Center Party. Party. The anti-immigration party Sweden Democrats was left aside.
After the stalemate in the 2018 election, the Social Democrats and the Green Party formed a government with passive support from the Center Party and the Liberals who wanted to exclude the Sweden Democrats. The ruling coalition also had to make several concessions to appease the other two parties.
This came to an end earlier this year, which led to Lofven becoming the first Swedish prime minister to be deposed.
However, Sweden’s political map was recently redrawn when the Moderates and Christian Democrats announced their intention to form a conservative government with the support of the Sweden Democrats. Andersson’s government will now have to deal with the budget proposal presented by this coalition and adopted last week.
The Liberals have announced that they will support such a conservative government, while the Center Party has promised to continue to deny the Sweden Democrats all influence. The Center Party’s attitude to the Left Party is the same.
At the same time, the remaining parties, including Andersson’s Social Democrats, are not expected to present a joint government alternative before the next election, planned for September 2022.