Sweden’s parliament has elected the leader of the Social Democrats, Magdalena Andersson, as prime minister of the country for the second time in less than a week.
The former finance minister, who will be the first woman to hold the position of head of government in Sweden, won a similar vote last week but resigned a few hours later amid a dispute over the budget.
Andersson was elected this Monday (29) with 101 votes in favor, 173 against and 75 abstentions. In Sweden, a government is approved if the absolute majority (175 deputies) does not vote against the candidacy.
Andersson will now form a minority government formed only by his own party. Social Democrats hold 100 seats out of 349 in parliament and will have to rely on the support of several other parties to pass their policies. Since 1979, a government has had so little direct support in parliament.
To complicate the picture, Andersson will have to govern with a budget formulated in part by three opposition parties, including Swedish anti-immigration Democrats, whose advance over the past decade is at the center of a political turmoil in the country.
Sweden never had a prime minister. The position has so far been filled by 33 men since its inception in 1876.
Andersson was finance minister in the government of Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, who resigned after seven years in office. She was elected less than a year before the next legislative elections, scheduled for September 2022. Her challenge will be to keep the Social Democrats in power, as the party registers its lowest approval rate in history.
Löfven had managed to form a minority coalition of the Social Democrats with the Greens, as well as maintaining the support of the Left and Center parties. This complex balance has now collapsed, with the Center leaning to the right and wary of the growing influence of the Left Party.
Even if he manages to calm the base, Andersson will face a series of challenges. Violence has increased in most Swedish cities, with gang fights and shootings. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed gaps in the lauded Swedish welfare state, as the country has not established national lockdown or mask virus containment measures.
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