A majority in the Swedish parliament is ready to support a no-confidence motion against Stefan Löfven’s government. The vote will be held on Monday.
The Left Party started the process by declaring that they no longer support Löfven. The Sweden Democrats supported them, thus having enough votes to initiate the formal procedure leading up to a no-confidence motion in the Riksdag.
The Christian Democrats and the Moderates also support the proposal, which thus has a majority in the Riksdag.
Proposal
The background for the Left Party’s dissatisfaction is the government’s proposal for the deregulation of housing rent. On Tuesday, the party issued an ultimatum to the government to drop the proposal or start negotiations with the relevant associations to ensure improvements.
“The deadline has passed, and the government has not met our requirements,” party leader Nooshi Dadgostar said on Thursday.
She said that the no-confidence motion should be submitted in time to be considered before the Riksdag takes a summer vacation.
According to the leader of the Riksdag, the vote will be held on Monday at 10 AM. Before that, the proposal must be formally submitted twice, which will likely take place on Thursday and Friday.
SD expects a majority
“I expect that the majority will vote to remove Löfven,” the Sweden Democrats’ parliamentary leader Henrik Vinge said. His party is on the same line as the Left Party in the rent issue.
The Christian Democrats are also in favor of overthrowing Löfven.
“These have been seven difficult years with Stefan Löfven, since he took office. We now see the opportunity to form a new government,” party leader Ebba Busch of the Christian Democrats noted.
New elections?
At least 175 of the National Assembly’s 349 members must vote in favor of the no-confidence motion in order for it to pass. After the Moderates made it clear that they are also in favor of overthrowing the government, the parties who support the proposal now have a total of 181 representatives.
“It is natural for us to vote against this government. It is based on incompatible contradictions and promises,” the Moderates’ group leader in the Riksdag, Tobias Billström, accentuated.
Ebba Busch says that, for the time being, it cannot be assumed that there will be new elections. However, Busch added that they would welcome elections “because it would give voters an opportunity to have their say.”
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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