Sweden’s first female prime minister resigns

Sweden’s first female prime minister resigns. Today, Wednesday, November 24, marked a historic day in Sweden. Magdalena Andersson was announced as the first-ever female prime minister in the country but was forced to resign just a few hours later after her coalition partner quit the government and her budget failed to pass.

Instead, parliament voted for a budget drawn up by the opposition which includes the anti-immigrant far-right.

“I have told the speaker that I wish to resign,” Ms. Andersson told reporters.

Her coalition partner, the Greens Party said it could not accept a budget “drafted for the first time with the far-right”.

Hopes to become prime minister again

Ms. Andersson said that she hoped to try to become Sweden’s female prime minister again, however next time it will be as a single-party government leader. The fact that she had support from so many members of the Swedish parliament means that this could be a possibility for Sweden’s shortest ruling prime minister.

Constitutional practice

“There is a constitutional practice that a coalition government should resign when one party quits,” the Social Democrat said on Wednesday. She said that she chose to be Sweden’s first female prime minister who resigns because “I don’t want to lead a government whose legitimacy will be questioned”.

Next move

The speaker of parliament said he would contact party leaders on the next move.

Ms. Andersson was elected as prime minister earlier on Wednesday because, under Swedish law, she only needed a majority of MPs not to vote against her.

A hundred years after Swedish women were given the vote, the 54-year-old Social Democrat leader was given a standing ovation by sections of the parliament, or Riksdag.

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