Sweden’s first woman prime minister Magdalena Andersson resigns on first day
- She stepped down after her budget failed to pass and a junior party quit the coalition government
- Andersson had made history by becoming the first woman elected to the post, 100 years after the Scandinavian country allowed women to vote
Sweden’s Prime Minister-elect Magdalena Andersson on Wednesday handed in her resignation hours after being appointed by parliament, after her budget failed to pass and the junior Green Party quit the coalition government.
While her stint was unexpectedly brief, Andersson, nicknamed the “bulldozer” by local media, made history by becoming the first woman elected to the post of prime minister in Sweden – she was to formally take over on Friday.
The 54-year-old economist who has served as finance minister for the past seven years said she hoped to be elected to the position again soon as the head of a minority government made up of only the Social Democrats.
“There is a constitutional practice that a coalition government should resign when one party quits,” Andersson, a Social Democrat, told reporters. “I don’t want to lead a government whose legitimacy will be questioned.”
Just hours earlier, parliament had elected Andersson after she clinched a last-minute deal with the Left Party to raise pensions in exchange for its crucial backing in Wednesday’s vote in parliament.