Sweden's Stefan Lofven re-elected as PM in parliamentary vote weeks after ouster

Prime Minister Stefan Löfven was reinstated in the Sweden Parliament within a few weeks after he was ousted in a no-confidence vote. Löfven won a majority of 117 IN 349 seats on July 7 when he resumed. Head of the Social Democrat's Party, Löfven was supported by lawmakers to form a new government after leading the country in a caretaking capacity since late last month, reported AP.

No-Confidence Vote

The 63-year-old member of the Social Democratic Party of Denmark was ruled out of the Parliament on June 21 after he lost a no-confidence vote called by the right-wing populists Sweden Democrats Party. At least four political parties in Sweden announced at the parliament that they will back a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Stefan Löfven’s government on Monday to topple it out of power, resulting in a snap election over the disputes of rent control for the newly constructed apartments.  Following the vote, it was up to Löfven to either resign or call for a snap vote. However, on June 28 Löfven decided to resign leaving the coalition-building process under the supervision of Parliament Speaker Andreas Norlen.

Back with a blow

Norlen tried to form a new government with the head of Sweden’s center-right opposition Moderates party, Ulf Kristersson. However, he failed since Kristersson was only able to get 174 lawmakers to support him. Even after the resignation of Löfven, the Left Party and its alliance failed to restore the housing shortage and rent control issues. As reported, the Left Party and other critics saw easing rent controls were fundamentally at odds with the Swedish social model and posed threat to tenants' rights. Löfven reached a deal with the Centre and Liberal parties, which agreed to abstain from voting against him, letting him reinstate his throne. Moderates leader Kristersson took Facebook to announce that they had tried but failed to win the support of the lawmakers for a new central administration. After being accepted by the majority of MPs, Löfven decided to form a two-party Cabinet with Greens. He has served as the head of the Swedish government since 2014 and shall remain a caretaker PM until the next elections, which are scheduled for September 11, 2022.

(Input: AP)