Magdalena Andersson Could Become First Swedish Female PM
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The new head of Sweden's Social Democrats, Magdalena Andersson, is seeking the support of a majority of parliament members, after tasking her with forming a government.
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Prime Minister-designate and leader of Social Democrats Magdalena Andersson (AP)
Sweden's new leader of Social Democrats, Magdalena Andersson, was tasked on Thursday with securing parliament's support to become the country’s first female prime minister, a day after the resignation of left-wing PM Stefan Lofven.
Predictably, Parliament Speaker Andreas Norlen tasked her with consulting with party leaders in order to ensure a transfer of power.
Andersson, who served as Lofven's finance minister, has until Tuesday to present her final report, or request a deadline extension to try to secure enough support to form a government.
If she succeeds by then, her appointment could be put to a vote by parliamentarians from November 18, which would make her Sweden's first female PM.
To become prime minister, the 54-year-old economist needs to secure the support of her allies from the Green Party, as well as from the Left and the Center Party, in order to obtain an absolute majority in Parliament, i.e. 175 votes out of 349.
Ahead of Lofven's resignation on Wednesday, Centre Party leader Annie Loof announced that her party would not vote against Magdalena, after reaching an agreement with social democrats and environmentalists.
In the event of four failures in attempting to form a majority, early elections are called within three months.
Andersson's Social Democrats must take on Ulf Kristersson’s Moderate Party, which has conservative views aligning with that of the anti-immigration right-wing Sweden Democrats. In case parliament ends up rejecting Andersson, Kristersson might be asked to form a government.
Following a 7 year tenure as prime minister, Stefan Lofven announced that he would leave his post ahead of the elections scheduled for September 2022, after being weakened by a political crisis at the beginning of the summer.
Magdalena Andersson was elected head of the Social Democratic Party last week, succeeding Lofven.
