Sweden: parliament rejects Magdalena Andersson as prime minister
Only the Social Democrats voted for their leader. The speaker is now expected to turn to Ulf Kristersson – up to three more votes remain before a snap election.
Archive image · Photo: Frankie Fouganthin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Sweden's parliament (Riksdag) on Thursday rejected Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson's bid to form a minority government. According to Reuters, only her own Social Democrats voted for her, while all other parties voted against. The result had been expected.
In the 13 September election, the four centre-left opposition parties won a majority with 176 seats, against 173 for Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's right-wing bloc. All four parties favour Andersson as prime minister but have not agreed on who should sit in a new government. "It's been clear to me since the election night that it will take some time," Andersson said.
Thursday's vote was the first of up to four before a new election must be called. The speaker is widely expected to ask Kristersson of the Moderates, the second-largest party, to try to form a government next. With little sign so far that he can secure a majority, the task could later return to Andersson. Kristersson remains prime minister in the meantime.