Deja Vu: Sweden's Andersson Elected PM For Second Time

Sweden's parliament on Monday elected Magdalena Andersson as the country's prime minister, the first woman to hold the post, five days after her initial bid lasted only hours

Stockholm, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Nov, 2021 ) :Sweden's parliament on Monday elected Magdalena Andersson as the country's prime minister, the first woman to hold the post, five days after her initial bid lasted only hours.

Despite being a nation that has long championed gender equality, Sweden has never before had a woman as prime minister.

Last week Andersson was elected by parliament but she had to resign just hours later -- before she even had a chance to formally take office -- after her budget failed to pass through parliament and the Green Party quit her coalition government.

The parliamentary turbulence was unprecedented in politically stable Sweden, where the Social Democrats have dominated for almost a century.

With 10 months to go before September general elections, the 54-year-old, who is the outgoing finance minister, will now head a minority government made up solely of the Social Democrats.

She is due to formally take over the post on Tuesday, succeeding outgoing Prime Minister Stefan Lofven after his seven years in power.

A total of 101 members of parliament voted for her, while 75 abstained and 173 voted against.

Under Sweden's system, a prime ministerial candidate does not need the support of a majority in parliament, they just need to avoid a majority of 175 voting against them.

"It was a big day last Wednesday, and it was a big day today," Andersson told reporters after the vote, adding that this time around, "I was perhaps more prepared for it to be emotional".

Andersson now faces a challenging period in the run-up to the election, which observers predict will be a close race.

The Social Democrats are currently hovering close to their lowest-ever approval ratings, at around 25 percent.

Meanwhile, the right-wing opposition, led by the conservative Moderates, has in recent years inched closer to the once-ostracised anti-immigration Sweden Democrats and hopes to govern with its informal backing.