Stefan Löfven approved by Swedish parliament
As expected, Stefan Löfven received enough votes in the Swedish parliament (Riksdag) on Wednesday to proceed and form a new government - just two weeks after he resigned.
After Wednesday’s vote, Löfven once again has a parliamentary basis for a government with the Green Party.
The Social Democrats and the Green Party were the only ones who voted for Löfven as prime minister. He thus received 116 votes. Sixty representatives abstained, but the most important thing was the number of MPS who voted against Löfven – 173.
Background
Löfven would not have been able to form a government if 175 or more of the 349 members of the Riksdag had voted against him.
It is not necessary to have a majority in the Riksdag to be approved as prime minister, but you cannot have the majority of MPs against you.
On Monday, just over two weeks ago, the Riksdag supported a no-confidence motion against Löfven. He chose to resign, but when it became clear that the Moderates’ Ulf Kristersson had no parliamentary basis for forming a government, Löfven got another chance.
Only candidate
Löfven was the only candidate proposed for the Riksdag by Riksdag Speaker Andreas Norlén.
Löfven is expected to present his “new-old” government on Friday. This gives him an opportunity to make some adjustments, but no major changes are expected.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
Do you have a news tip for Norway Today? We want to hear it. Get in touch at [email protected]
