Sweden in ‘unknown territory’ after historic ousting of Prime Minister Stefan Lofven
A new government could take weeks or months – as was the case in Germany and Italy – to thrash out
Stefan Lofven was defiant after becoming the first Swedish prime minister in history to be ousted by a confidence vote in parliament.
The 61-year-old was voted out of office on Tuesday after the centre-right opposition and the nationalists teamed up to end four years of Social Democratic rule.
Lofven, the leader of the Social Democratic Party who has been prime minister for four years, will continue in a caretaker role until a new government can be formed that has the command of the Riksdagen.
Lawmakers voted 204-142 against Lofven, while three abstained. The vote was mandatory after the September 9 general election delivered a hung parliament.
Though Lofven remains optimistic that he may be able to form a government, the vote means Sweden faces weeks of political uncertainty.
Both main political blocs in the parliament have refused to cooperate with the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats, which made great strides in the election.