Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson resigns: Why did he quit and who is likely to replace him?

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson submitted a letter of resignation to the speaker of parliament on 17 September following the announcement of a final vote count for Sunday’s election.

A group of centre-left opposition parties headed by the Social Democrats under Magdalena Andersson won 176 seats in Sunday’s vote for parliament. Kristersson’s incumbent right-wing bloc secured 173 seats, the election authority said.

Andersson, who became Sweden’s first woman prime minister in 2021, said the country would take a new direction after four years during which the government has driven a hard line on immigration and crime.

“In recent times there are those who have not felt welcome in our country,” she said in a speech carried on the X platform. “To you, I want to say this: This is a new era now. That is what the Swedish people have voted for.”

Why Govt formation will take some time?

The government formation may take some time, however. Of Andersson’s potential backers, the Centre Party says it will not join a coalition that includes the Left Party. The Green Party is also a potential member of a left-of-centre government.

The daily Dagens Nyheter reported that the Social Democrats had invited other opposition parties for talks, but gave no further details, news agency Reuters said. If Andersson fails to cobble together a coalition, the right bloc will most likely try to persuade the Centre Party to switch sides, something analysts say is unlikely.

Outgoing deputy prime minister Ebba Busch, leader of the Christian Democrats, said “it remains to be seen” what happens next.

If parliament rejects four candidates for the prime minister’s job, a new election must be held. The election pitted Andersson’s loose alliance against Kristersson’s centre-right bloc. He had planned to bring the far-right into the coalition, to secure a majority, but the Sweden Democrats, with roots in the neo-Nazi fringe, saw their share of the vote decline for the first time since they entered parliament in 2010, tipping the vote in favour of the opposition.

The setback for the Sweden Democrats puts Sweden at odds with most of Europe, where the far-right is on the front foot.

The result remains subject to formal certification.

Who is Magdalena Andersson?

Andersson is a Swedish politician and economist who has been serving as Leader of the Opposition since October 2022 and Leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party since 2021.

She has served as a Member of the Riksdag for Stockholm County since 2014.

Born in Uppsala on 23 January 1967, Andersson joined the Social Democratic youth movement at 16 and quickly rose through its ranks.

She studied economics at the Stockholm School of Economics and later studied at Harvard University and the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna. She served as his director of planning and later held senior positions at the Ministry of Finance and the Swedish Tax Agency. In 2014, she became the finance minister under Prime Minister Stefan Löfven.

Then, in November 2021, after Lofven stepped down as Social Democratic leader and prime minister, Andersson succeeded him and became Sweden’s first woman prime minister. However, Andersson’s first experience as prime minister lasted only hours.

After parliament rejected her proposed budget and adopted an opposition-backed alternative, the Green Party left her government. Andersson resigned. But she was successfully re-elected as prime minister on 29 November 2021.

She returned as head of a Social Democratic minority government and became Sweden’s first woman prime minister. She remained prime minister only until the 2022 election.

Since losing office, Andersson has remained leader of the Social Democrats and one of Sweden’s most prominent political figures. Four years after losing Sweden’s premiership, Andersson is once again at center of country’s political scene.