STOCKHOLM, Nov. 29 (Reuters) – Sweden’s first female prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, was re-elected on Monday days after stepping down amid political unrest and pre-election stampede.

Lawmakers narrowly elected her prime minister for the second time in less than a week after she presented plans for a minority government made up entirely of her Social Democrats.

The former finance minister won a similar vote on Wednesday, but threw in the towel hours later after a junior coalition partner left government due to a lost budget vote. Read more

“Like all minority governments, we will seek to cooperate with other parties in parliament, and I see good opportunities to do so,” said Andersson, whose party holds 100 seats out of 349 seats in parliament, at the meeting. a press conference.

“The Social Democrats have by far the largest party group in parliament. We also have a long tradition of cooperation with others and we are ready to do whatever is necessary to move Sweden forward.”

Moderate right-wing opposition Party leader Ulf Kristersson called the new administration a “nine-month interim government” and said it would not be able to do much as the scheduled elections approach. in September 2022.

Andersson will have to lead one of Sweden’s weakest governments in recent decades and rule with a budget partly crafted by three opposition parties, including the anti-immigration Swedish Democrats, whose gains over the past decade are at the heart of political turmoil in Sweden.

Parliament passed the opposition’s proposed budget amendments last week, which fundamentally redefined the government’s spending plans.

The Social Democrats have been in power since 2014, supported by parties united by nothing but their desire to prevent Swedish Democrats from influencing politics.

The center-right opposition has struggled to muster enough votes to form a majority government, and polls suggest there may be little change in the political calculus in the next election.

Andersson will face major challenges.

Gang violence is rampant in the suburbs of major cities. read more The health service has barely coped with the pandemic and needs to be strengthened, while the government will have to manage a promised transition to a zero-emission economy.

Additional reporting by Johan Ahlander; edited by Niklas Pollard and Andrew Heavens

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