Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lowen.
- Magdalena Andersson (Magdalena Andersson) was elected to succeed Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven (Stefan Lofven).
If Anderson wins the parliamentary vote next week, she will become Sweden’s first female prime minister.
- Sweden has long advocated gender equality.
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven resigned on Wednesday, paving the way for the country’s gender equality advocate to eventually have a female prime minister.
The current Minister of Finance Magdalena Andersson was elected last week to replace Lofven as the leader of the Social Democratic Party. If she wins a vote in Parliament next week, she is expected to become prime minister.
Lofven, a former welder and union negotiator, has been leading the minority coalition with the Green Party since 2014 and said earlier this year that he will step down before the next general election in September 2022.
“We will conduct elections in less than a year, and the important thing is that we can quickly handover,” Lovewen said in August that he will resign this month, he told reporters. “I think voters want this to go well.”
In a country that has long advocated gender equality, it sounds almost untimely to make the first woman prime minister.
All other Nordic countries—Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland—have women leading governments.
As the leadership of the Social Democratic Party changed, the party’s approval rating was close to its lowest ever.
Read also | Do not! Sweden prevents baby boy from naming “Vladimir Putin”
It is not clear whether Anderson has enough support to pass a confirmation vote in Parliament, which may happen next week.
She does not need a majority in the 349-seat parliament to support her as prime minister. But she must avoid a majority vote against her.
On Wednesday, the Center Party agreed not to block Anderson’s candidacy in exchange for easier changes in building regulations and forestry ownership laws.
But Anderson still needs at least passive support from the former Communist Left Party, whose leader Nooshi Dadgostar has asked for an opinion on the policy.
If Anderson promises, she may lose the support of the center party, which has center-right roots and wants to exclude the left from any influence on the government.
If Parliament vetoed Anderson, Ulf Christerson, leader of the Moderate Party, might be tried. He has the support of the populist, anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats, whose central and left-wing parties want to avoid influencing policy.
“The Left Party must realize that there will be a new government. The question is which government do they want?” Lowen said.
Don’t miss a story. Choose from our newsletter Send the news you want directly to your inbox.
