Four days after she took over as prime minister, Magdalena Andersson said she was stepping down, effective immediately. Her role was already short-lived, as she was appointed with a reduced time frame. Under the leadership of the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats party, the Centre Party, the Liberal Party and the Greens had just days earlier agreed to form a new coalition government — with Andersson leading it — after three weeks of exploratory talks.
She said that, although the new government had made important progress, “it’s with a heavy heart I step down from the political arena and will not continue as prime minister.” But despite the center-left’s clear majority in Parliament and a majority of the country’s ethnic-Swedish voters, the center-right parties were uneasy about the appointment of a woman. Andersson initially supported a pluralist approach and vowed to bring different political parties into government, while also insisting that her party didn’t want to be the country’s main representative — particularly in light of the party’s tendency to attract former Nazis.
Sweden’s left was quick to condemn her resignation, denouncing it as a “blow to democracy.” The country’s trade unions will hold an emergency meeting today.
Read the full story at The New York Times.
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