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Stefan Lofven announces his resignation one week after he lost a vote of no confidence in parliament. /AFP/ Stina Stjernkvist / TT News Agency
Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said on Monday he was resigning, handing the speaker of parliament the job of finding a new premier after the Social Democrat leader lost a vote of no-confidence last week.
Lofven had been given a deadline of midnight on Monday to either step down or call a snap election after losing the June 21 confidence vote when the Left Party withdrew its support. He had hoped to find new backing in parliament to secure his reappointment.
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"I have requested to be dismissed as prime minister," Lofven told a hastily called news conference. "It is the most difficult political decision I have ever taken."
Speaker Andreas Norlen will now have up to four attempts to find a new prime minister with enough backing from lawmakers. If he fails, a snap election must be called, little more than a year ahead of scheduled polls in September 2022.
Those must go ahead anyway, meaning any new administration would be a short one.
Lofven hopes new polls could be avoided, stating: "With one year left until the election, and an ongoing pandemic, a snap election is not the best thing for Sweden."
The former union boss and welder had headed a fragile minority coalition with the Greens since 2018, relying on support from two small center-right parties and the Left Party to remain in power.
The center-left and center-right blocs are now evenly balanced in parliament and opinion polls suggest a general election might not change the picture.
Last week's confidence vote had triggered frenzied talks across the political spectrum as both blocs tried to line up enough support to form a government.
It took Lofven four months to form a government after 2018's inconclusive election.
Source(s): Reuters
