In the middle of the pandemic, Sweden is in a political crisis.
After a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Löfven, the red-green government resigns.
The 63-year-old is hoping for a quick comeback.
Stockholm - Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Löfven resigned a week after a vote of no confidence in parliament.
The 63-year-old head of the Social Democrats said on Monday in Stockholm: "In view of the extraordinary situation in which the country is in with the ongoing pandemic and the associated special challenges, a new election is not the best for Sweden." Löfven had after Vote of no confidence one week to decide between resigning and re-election.
The search for a new head of government now begins. President of the Parliament Andreas Norlén invited the representatives of the parties in the Reichstag to hold talks one after the other on Tuesday. The Social Democrats make the start. Löfven announced that he wanted to make a new attempt after seven years in office. “I am available to lead a government that the Reichstag can tolerate.” He left it open with which parties he wants to form a coalition.
The head of the moderates, Ulf Kristersson, is also working on gaining a majority.
The 57-year-old strives for a civic alliance.
"We'll talk to everyone," said Kristersson.
“I keep to myself which individual conversations I have.” It is possible that the President of Parliament will propose a candidate to the Reichstag to form a government immediately after the talks.
Premiere in Sweden
A majority in the Reichstag overthrew Löfven along with his government on Monday last week. It was the first time that a prime minister in Sweden was overthrown by a vote of no confidence. The vote was requested by the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats. With them, the moderates and the Christian Democrats, the Left Party also opposed the head of government. The reason for this was a dispute over a proposal to liberalize the rental market for new buildings.
Löfven has ruled Sweden since 2014. Since the beginning of 2019, he has been supported by a red-green minority government that, after tough negotiations, entered into an agreement on cooperation with the Center Party and the Liberals.
In addition, he was dependent on support from the left in parliament.
The next regular parliamentary election in Sweden is scheduled for September 2022 - regardless of whether there are new elections in the meantime or not.
Löfven is hoping for a quick comeback
The fact that Löfven decided to resign could be a signal of his confidence in a quick comeback.
If he manages to unite the Social Democrats and the Greens as well as the left and the center behind him, he would have 175 votes together - exactly as many as are necessary for a majority in the 349-seat Stockholm Reichstag.
For a long time there had been two roughly equally strong camps in Swedish politics: a left-wing one led by the Social Democrats and a bourgeois one led by the moderates. Since the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats gained strength, forming a government has become much more difficult. The tough negotiations two and a half years ago were a result of this. The collaboration was ultimately agreed across the traditional block boundaries - and now ended very quickly. dpa