The Swedish parliament reelected Magdalena Andersson, Sweden’s first female Prime Minister, in the same week she resigned mere hours after being voted in.
This historic and rather unusual event was termed “Super Wednesday” by the public, considering the dramatic turn of events that occurred.
Andersson, 54, stepped down merely 7 hours after winning a majority vote to become Sweden’s first female Prime Minister. She won by a single vote after last-minute negotiations with Sweden’s Left party and previous discussions with the center-right Centre Party.
“What has happened is completely unique.”
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However, the parliament didn’t lend Andersson its support in a key budget vote. Instead, the Centre Party passed an alternative proposal from three right-wing parties. Among these parties was the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats.
Centre Party leader Annie Loof said, “We cannot support a budget from a government which is moving far to the left, which we think the incoming government is doing.”
The Swedish Green party thus announced its decision to quit the ruling coalition that same Wednesday. According to the party’s co-leader Marta Stenevi, the party “wanted to have power in order to conduct green policies… [It’s] not the Green Party’s job in politics to implement a budget negotiated with the Sweden Democrats.”
The former finance minister and leader of the Social Democratic Party, Magdalena Andersson, stepped down about 7 hours after she won the majority vote.
“I understand that this may look very messy,” Andersson told the public. “And what has happened is completely unique. Despite the fact that the parliamentary positions appear unchanged, the issue should be tried anew. I don’t want to lead a government whose legitimacy might be questioned.”
Sweden Has A New Prime Minister — And It’s the Same Woman
“I don’t want to lead a government whose legitimacy might be questioned.”
Sweden has now regained Magdalene Andersson as its first female prime minister. With a 101-173 vote with 75 abstentions, the leader of the Social Democrats has now formed a one-party, minority government.
Prior to her reappointment, an interim government made up of the previous government led the nation. Andersson has replaced Stefan Löfven, who stepped down as the leader of the Social Democrats party and Sweden’s premier. Löfven had stepped down in June but was subsequently reinstated. Last August, he announced his resignation once more.
Andersson, on the other hand, held the position of finance minister in Löfven’s government since 2014. She obtained her education at Harvard and Stockholm School of Economics.
She now has to prove herself to the Swedish public in the coming 9 months, seeing as Sweden will hold its next election in September 2022.
Sweden has now joined the ranks of all the other Nordic countries as a woman-led country. Despite being one of the progressive nations in terms of gender relations, Sweden has never had a female leader.
