Sweden’s first woman PM Magdalena Andersson elected 10 months before polls
- A Social Democrat, Andersson is the current finance minister and a former elite swimmer who enjoys heavy metal
- She faces an unprecedented challenge by the right-wing and far-right in next year’s general election
The Social Democrat, a 54-year-old current finance minister and a former elite swimmer, succeeds Prime Minister Stefan Lofven just 10 months before legislative elections scheduled for September 2022.
With her straight blond hair and no-nonsense attitude, Andersson describes herself as a “nice, hard-working woman” who likes to be in charge.
In political circles, she has built a reputation for being direct and blunt, a quality that rubs some the wrong way in a country where consensus is the law of the land.
A recent programme profiling her on public television channel SVT was entitled “The Bulldozer”.
“People even say they are scared of her which is kind of funny; these elite political scientists or professors of economics saying they are afraid of her,” said Anders Lindberg, political editor at the Aftonbladet daily, which describes itself as independent social democratic.
She ends up winning the argument because no one else can really answer because she masters all the details
Considered extremely competent in her role as finance minister for seven years, Andersson is known for her slogan, “Sweden can do better”.