Powered by
Sponsored by

Sweden's first female prime minister quits hours later

She suffered a budget defeat in parliament and coalition partner left

sweden-magdalena-anderrson-ap Swedish Social Democratic Party leader and Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson during a press conference | AP

Hours after being tapped as Sweden's prime minister, Magdalena Andersson resigned on Wednesday after suffering a budget defeat in parliament and its coalition partner left the two-party minority government.

"For me, it is about respect, but I also do not want to lead a government where there may be grounds to question its legitimacy," Andersson told a news conference.

Andersson has informed parliamentary Speaker Anderas Norlen that she is still interested in leading a Social Democratic one-party government. 

She said that "a coalition government should resign if a party chooses to leave the government. Despite the fact that the parliamentary situation is unchanged, it needs to be tried again." 

📣 The Week is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TheWeekmagazine) and stay updated with the latest headlines