STOCKHOLM— Sweden's beleaguered Social Democratic Prime Minister
Stefan Lofven said Sunday he would step down in November to allow a successor
time to prepare for the country's September 2022 general election.
اضافة اعلان
Lofven was reinstated as prime minister by parliament in early July just
weeks after being ousted in a historic vote of no confidence.
He told a political rally on Sunday he would "leave my position as
party chairman at the party's congress in November and thereafter also resign
as prime minister."
Lofven, 64, has served as party leader for almost 10 years and as prime
minister since 2014.
"Everything has an end and I want to give my successor the best
possible chances," he said.
The former welder and union leader has led a weak minority government
together with the Greens Party for the past three years, struggling to find a
workable coalition following inconclusive elections in September 2018.
The announcement of his resignation came nonetheless as a surprise, as
Lofven had previously indicated he wanted to lead the party in the next
election campaign.
But Ewa Stenberg, political commentator at Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter,
said it was a wise decision on his part.
"Lofven's not a good election campaigner or debater, he's not the
leader the Social Democrats need in a tough election campaign where rhetoric is
important," she wrote.
"Against that background, it's logical that he hands over to someone
who's better with words and who can spark enthusiasm."
Woman as next PM?
It is not yet known who will succeed Lofven as party leader, though Stenberg
and other political commentators speculated that Finance Minister Magdalena
Andersson was a hot tip.
Andersson has held the finance portfolio for seven years, and has on
occasion stood in for the prime minister.
Health Minister Lena Hallengren, who like Andersson enjoys relatively high
ratings among the public, especially for her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic,
was also mentioned as a possible successor.
Despite being a longstanding champion of women's rights and gender equality,
Sweden, unlike its Nordic neighbors, has yet to have a woman prime
minister.
Whoever is elected to succeed Lofven as party leader would have to be
approved by parliament in order to take over as prime minister.
Since coming to power in 2014, Lofven has weathered the decline of social
democracy in Europe, the rise of the far right and even the pandemic.
But he was left weakened by a political crisis that emerged in June this
year, when the Left Party that had been propping up his coalition withdrew its
support over a preliminary plan to reform rent controls.
Lofven was forced to resign after losing a vote of no confidence.
The opposition was given a chance to form a government but failed to secure
enough votes in parliament, ultimately leading a majority of lawmakers to
reinstate Lofven as prime minister.
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