SHORTLY after Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson was elected by Parliament Sweden’s first female prime minister Wednesday, she tendered her resignation faced with the harsh reality of having to lead a minority coalition government.

Just hours after she was elected prime minister, Parliament (Riksdag) passed the opposition’s budget proposal prompting Andersson’s coalition partner the Green Party to pull its support. This, in turn, forced Andersson to announce her resignation.

Wednesday’s events were a result of the inconclusive outcome of the 2018 elections, which led to a lengthy process of finding a government in a political landscape where certain parties do everything in their power to block their ideological opponents from having any form of influence.

In comparison, the election of Andersson was a breeze. To be elected prime minister, she only needed a majority of lawmakers in the 349-seat Riksdag not voting against her. She was backed by 117 but rejected by 174, with 57 deputies abstaining. One deputy was absent.

Andersson’s election followed an 11th-hour deal with the Left Party, which demanded a raise in pensions for around 700,000 of the poorest pensioners in return for not pressing the red button.

However, later in the day the ruling coalition’s budget proposal was voted down in favor of the budget proposed jointly by the Moderate Party, the Sweden Democrats and the Christian Democrats.

This came after the Center Party, which accepted Andersson as prime minister in an attempt to shut out the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, decided not to vote for the government’s budget proposal, as they saw the deal as too sharp a turn to the left despite the fact that the government had also made concessions to appease the Center Party. (Xinhua)