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Posted: 2021-11-29 15:05:24

After a bumpy start, Sweden once again has its first female Prime Minister, with Magdalena Andersson re-elected as the Nordic nation's head of government.

Ms Andersson had resigned just seven hours after first being elected prime minister last week.

But in a 101-173 vote with 75 abstentions, the 349-seat Riksdag again elected Ms Andersson, leader of the Social Democrats, to the role of PM.

Under the Swedish Constitution, prime ministers can be named and govern as long as a parliamentary majority — a minimum of 175 lawmakers — is not against them.

She will this time form a one-party, minority government and is expected to name her Cabinet on Tuesday. 

Ms Andersson stepped down as prime minister last week after the Swedish Green Party left her government's coalition.

The Greens walked out after her government's budget proposal was rejected, and a budget by opposition parties was accepted – the opposition includes the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats, who are rooted in a neo-Nazi movement. 

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Magdalena Andersson decided it was best to step down only hours after she made history

"We wanted to have power in order to conduct green policies," Green co-leader Marta Stenevi had told a news conference last week.

"It is not the Green Party's job in politics to implement a budget negotiated with the Sweden Democrats."

A fraught budget

Ms Andersson's appointment as prime minister had marked a milestone for Sweden, viewed for decades as one of Europe's most progressive countries when it comes to gender relations, but which had yet to have a woman in the top political post.

Ms Andersson will now have to govern on a budget in part formulated by three opposition parties, including the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, whose gains over the past decade lie at heart of Sweden's political turmoil.

Her tenuous hold on power is due to a deadlocked parliament where neither the centre-left nor centre-right can form a majority on their own.

An election due in September next year may not bring any further clarity as polls show little change in the overall political balance.

AP/Reuters

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