Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

World

Swedish parliament ousts PM Lofven in vote of no-confidence

-

Sweden's centre-right opposition and the far-right ousted Prime Minister Stefan Lofven in a vote of no-confidence on Tuesday, after September 9 elections left neither the left or right bloc with a majority.

A total of 204 of 349 members of parliament voted against Lofven, while 142 voted in favour of him.

"Sweden needs a new government that has broad political support to undertake reforms," the head of the opposition Alliance coalition, Ulf Kristersson, told parliament moments before the vote.

The speaker of parliament, Andreas Norlen, was expected to meet the leaders of the eight parties represented in parliament in the coming days to determine who is best placed to form the next government.

Norlen is widely expected to task Kristersson with the job, but the Alliance does not hold a majority in parliament and has so far ruled out any collaboration with the far-right anti-immigration Sweden Democrats.

Lofven's left-wing bloc holds 144 seats in the new parliament, just one more than the four-party centre-right Alliance.

The left-wing bloc is made up of the Social Democrats and the Greens, who have ruled together with the informal support of the ex-communist Left Party since 2014.

The Social Democrats posted their worst election score in more than a century, but they remain Sweden's biggest party, far ahead of Kristersson's conservative Moderate Party and the Sweden Democrats.

Lofven will stay on as prime minister in a caretaker role until a new government is in place, which could take weeks.

Sweden’s centre-right opposition and the far-right ousted Prime Minister Stefan Lofven in a vote of no-confidence on Tuesday, after September 9 elections left neither the left or right bloc with a majority.

A total of 204 of 349 members of parliament voted against Lofven, while 142 voted in favour of him.

“Sweden needs a new government that has broad political support to undertake reforms,” the head of the opposition Alliance coalition, Ulf Kristersson, told parliament moments before the vote.

The speaker of parliament, Andreas Norlen, was expected to meet the leaders of the eight parties represented in parliament in the coming days to determine who is best placed to form the next government.

Norlen is widely expected to task Kristersson with the job, but the Alliance does not hold a majority in parliament and has so far ruled out any collaboration with the far-right anti-immigration Sweden Democrats.

Lofven’s left-wing bloc holds 144 seats in the new parliament, just one more than the four-party centre-right Alliance.

The left-wing bloc is made up of the Social Democrats and the Greens, who have ruled together with the informal support of the ex-communist Left Party since 2014.

The Social Democrats posted their worst election score in more than a century, but they remain Sweden’s biggest party, far ahead of Kristersson’s conservative Moderate Party and the Sweden Democrats.

Lofven will stay on as prime minister in a caretaker role until a new government is in place, which could take weeks.

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

You may also like:

Business

Catherine Berthet (L) and Naoise Ryan (R) join relatives of people killed in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 Boeing 737 MAX crash at a...

Business

Turkey's central bank holds its key interest rate steady at 50 percent - Copyright AFP MARCO BERTORELLOFulya OZERKANTurkey’s central bank held its key interest...

World

A vendor sweats as he pulls a vegetable cart at Bangkok's biggest fresh market, with people sweltering through heatwaves across Southeast and South Asia...

Business

A diver in Myanmar works to recover a sunken ship in the Yangon River, plunging down to attach cables to the wreck and using...