After being elected Wednesday by Sweden’s parliament, Magdalena Andersson, a Social Democrat leader and current Finance Minister, has been made the first female prime minister of Sweden’s History.
Sweden was the only Nordic country without a woman leader. This despite its long history in promoting gender equality, and protecting women’s rights.
Annika Hirvonen (Green Party member) said that today was a historic day in Sweden. “We in parliament now have the chance to vote for a female Prime Minister for the first time.”
Andersson was elected even though she did not reach a majority in parliament. She received only 117 votes in her favour, while 57 legislators abstained and 174 voted against. One was absent.
However, under Swedish law, prime minsters do not need to win the majority vote in parliament. They just need to have the majority for them. This is a situation Andersson narrowly avoided.
After 11 hours of negotiations, Andersson reached a last-minute agreement with the Left Party, promising to raise pensions in return for their support.
The backlash immediately followed the announcement by the Center Party, one of Andersson’s supporters, that it would withdraw its support for the government’s budget. On Wednesday, lawmakers will vote on the matter.
This could indicate that Andersson will likely lose the vote on the finance bills. He would be governed under spending priorities set out by the Moderates, Christian Democrats, and right-wing Sweden Democrats.