Stockholm: Sweden ended a four-month political vacuum on Friday when lawmakers elected Prime Minister Stefan Lofven to a second term, after he elbowed out the far-right to save one of Europe’s few leftwing governments.
Lofven, 61, may have won a victory, but the former welder and union leader emerges weakened by months of wrangling in the wake of September’s inconclusive legislative elections that forced him to make major concessions to centre-right parties to win their support.
Lofven will formally present his new minority centre-left government, comprising his Social Democrats and the Greens, and its programme on Monday.
His new administration will be one of the weakest in Sweden in 70 years, with just 32.7 per cent of voters having cast ballots for the two parties.
He therefore secured the backing of the Centre and Liberal parties, until now members of the four-party, centre-right opposition Alliance, agreeing to a policy document that includes, among other things, the introduction of market rates for newly produced rental housing and easing Sweden’s strict labour laws.
Together, the four parties hold 167 of 349 seats in parliament, eight fewer than the 175 that constitutes a majority in the Riksdag.
“All around our world we see the rising influence of rightwing extremism. But in Sweden we stand up for democracy, for people’s equal rights,” Lofven said after the vote.
“Sweden will have a vigorous government that is not dependent on the (far-right) Sweden Democrats,” he stressed.
The nationalist and anti-immigration Sweden Democrats came third in the legislative elections in September with 17.6 per cent of the vote, putting the party in a position to act as kingmaker.
In the long weeks that followed, both Lofven and the head of the rightwing opposition Alliance, Ulf Kristersson, failed repeatedly to form a government.
Neither were able to build a majority due to their refusal to negotiate with the Sweden Democrats, with lawmakers rejecting both of the party’s nominations for prime minister.
“For a long time Swedish politics was dominated by a two-bloc conflict. After the rise of the Sweden Democrats, a three-block situation occurred. Now the situation has changed dramatically,” political scientist Olof Petersson said.
Lofven was the most shrewd in the post-election negotiations, analysts said.
The ex-communist Left Party had backed Lofven’s previous minority government since 2014, helping pass legislation in parliament.
But this time, the Left, which now holds 28 seats in parliament, was excluded as Lofven shifted towards the centre. — AFP
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