Sweden's prime minister has been voted out by parliament two weeks after the general election. The balance of power could now be in the hands of the far-right Sweden Democrats.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Aimo-Koivisto
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Swedish PM Stefan Lofven lost a mandatory confidence vote on Tuesday. The confidence vote is mandatory after a general election. Lofven's ouster was expected and now it is up to the speaker, Andreas Norlen of the opposition Alliance bloc, to task Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson with forming a new government. Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt tweeted about it immediately after the vote.
In order to pass legislation through parliament, some MPs on the right wing would like the Alliance to cooperate with the Sweden Democrats, now the country's third-biggest party. For two of the four Alliance parties — the Center and Liberals — that option is unacceptable.
Sweden's two traditional blocs emerged neck-and-neck after the country's September 9 election. Lofven's center-left bloc won 144 seats, compared with 143 for the rival center-right Alliance bloc. Both fell short of a majority as the far-right, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats made gains, giving the party 62 seats in the 349-seat parliament.
The Alliance bloc has been calling for Lofven to step down since the election.
Sweden has struggled to form a government since the inconclusive election in 2018, spurred by a shaky minority coalition and the rise of the far-right Sweden Democrats. DW takes a look at the main party leaders.
Image: picture-alliance/DPR/TT/H. Franzén
Prime Minister Stefan Lofven — Social Democrats (S)
The Social Democrats under Prime Minister Stefan Lofven suffered their worst defeat in a century in September elections, losing 13 seats in parliament. Even so, Lovfen is expected to serve another term as the head of a minority government in a policy deal with the Greens, the Center Party, and the Liberals following months of failed attempts to form a coalition that could take the reins.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/E. Simander
Ulf Kristersson — Moderate Party
Ulf Kristersson's Moderates had a stab at building a coalition, but failed. In the end Sweden's second-largest party will be sitting on the sidelines. Kristersson has said he will take advantage of the first opportunity to topple the new government. The right-wing party is mainly focused on law and order and job creation.
The far-right Sweden Democrats had their hopes set on a new government that would rely on them as kingmaker. But the mainstream parties were loathe to cooperate with SD. The party's popularity has spiked in recent years due to rising anti-migrant sentiment (Sweden took in over 160,000 asylum-seekers in 2015) and Akesson's efforts to cleanse the party of its neo-Nazi roots.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/J. Reinhart
Isabella Lovin and Gustav Fridolin — Green Party
The Greens agreed again to be the junior partner in a Social Democrat-led coalition. The party has been set on preventing the Sweden Democrats from holding sway over a new government. With their strong focus on environment, Lovin pushed for flight and carbon taxes as minister for international development and climate. Fridolin, education minister, plans to resign the co-leadership in May.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/M. Kaman
Annie Loof — Center Party
Sweden's Center Party emerged from the Democratic Farmers League, and while agriculture and environment remain key to its policies, Annie Loof emerged as the party's hope to attract urban and more progressive voters. Loof got a shot at forming a coalition, but gave up after a week. The party has said it backs the Social Democrats' plan to lead a new government but will not join it.
Left Party chief Jonas Sjostedt, a former metal worker and union leader, served in the European Parliament from 1995-2006. He returned to Swedish politics and was elected to parliament in 2010 and became party leader two years later. The Left agreed not to block a new government under the Social Democrats' Lofven out of fear that the far-right Sweden Democrats might gain power in a snap election.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/TT/A. Ihse
Jan Bjorklund — Liberals
A former army major, Liberals leader Jan Bjorklund has adopted a fighting approach to politics. The results have been mixed; the party's policy ideas on education and equality have been well received, while calls to expand the military and join NATO have mostly fallen on deaf ears. Despite internal divisions, the party has backed Lofven as premier though they will not be part of his government.
Image: picture-alliance/IBL Schweden/Aftonbladet/L. Björn
Ebba Busch Thor — Christian Democrats (KD)
Sweden's Christian Democrats have struggled to attract wide support, despite attempts to distance themselves from religious roots. Meanwhile, the party's increasingly harsh tone toward migration may have alienated more voters with Christian values than it has drawn in new ones. Ebba Busch Thor has criticized the Center Party and Liberals for backing Lovfen, suggesting they humiliated themselves.
Image: picture-alliance/DPR/TT/H. Franzén
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Traditional blocs
The left-wing bloc — made up of the Left Party, the governing Social Democrats and the Green Party — emerged with 40.6 percent of the vote. Lofven, the bloc's leader, ruled out cooperating with the Sweden Democrats.
The opposition Alliance bloc — comprised of the Moderate Party, Center Party, Liberals and Christian Democrats — scored 40.3 percent of September's vote. The Alliance could achieve a majority if it teamed up with the Sweden Democrats. However, the Center Party and Liberals would likely not agree to join with the far right. The bloc's other two parties, the Moderates and Christian Democrats, are open to joining with the Sweden Democrats, provided they had no influence over policy.
The Alliance hoped that the Social Democrats or Greens would break from their traditional blocs and join them, but Lofven rejected that idea.
Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson invited the other two parties to formal negotiations, but was rejected.
On Monday, parliament also elected Andreas Norlen of the opposition Alliance bloc as its speaker, giving the four-party group a slight advantage. One of Norlen's first tasks is to choose a prime ministerial candidate. He is permitted to give a maximum of four potential PMs the opportunity to form a government. If they all fail, fresh elections will be called.
