London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jan 24, 2026

New Swedish prime minister resigns hours after being voted in

New Swedish prime minister resigns hours after being voted in

Sweden's first female prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, has resigned from office only hours after being voted in, Sweden's official Twitter account announced Wednesday.

The dramatic move came before Andersson was fully in office as she had not yet had counsel with the King, a spokesperson told CNN.

Her resignation follows a budget defeat in parliament Wednesday, Sweden's Twitter account added, with lawmakers supporting the opposition's bill.

The Green Party has also decided to leave the minority coalition government with Andersson's Social Democrats, it said. "The current government will remain as an interim government until a new government is in place," it added.

Andersson, 54, said she had told the speaker of Parliament she hoped to be reappointed as prime minister at the head of a "single-party, Social Democrat government," Reuters reported.

She replaced Stefan Löfven, who recently stepped down as both the country's premier and as leader of the Social Democrats party.

All the other Nordic countries -- Finland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland -- have previously elected female national leaders.

As prime minister, Andersson was preceded by 33 men. She previously worked as Deputy Director General of the Swedish Tax Agency, according to her CV on the Swedish government website.

She holds a master's degree in Economics from the Stockholm School of Economics and has served as Sweden's finance minister since 2014.

She is also the second woman to head up the center-left Social Democrats party, according to Sweden's Twitter account.

Already facing major hurdles


Andersson won parliamentary approval after reaching a last-minute deal with the former communist Left Party, but her grip on power was tenuous because of the Nordic country's fragmented political landscape.

Her predecessor Löfven governed by performing a complex juggling act to secure support from both the Left and Center parties in parliament, even though they are not part of the coalition government.

Andersson was finance minister prior to her appointment as prime minister.


But the Center Party was worried by the deal with the Left Party and had said it would not back Andersson's government in a vote on a finance bill proposed by three opposition parties.

"We cannot support a budget from a government which is moving far to the left, which we think the incoming government is doing," Center Party leader Annie Loof told reporters.

Löfven, who stepped down earlier this month to give Andersson a chance to boost support for the party before a general election in September next year, said he would not continue if he lost the budget vote.

Whoever leads Sweden will face significant challenges. Gang violence and shootings blight life in many suburbs of the capital, Stockholm, and other major cities.

The Covid-19 pandemic exposed gaps in the much-vaunted welfare state, with the death rate in Sweden much higher than in neighboring Nordic countries.

The government also needs to speed up the shift to a "green" economy if it is to meet its climate change goals.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Starmer Breaks Diplomatic Restraint With Firm Rebuke of Trump, Seizing Chance to Advocate for Europe
UK Finance Minister Reeves to Join Starmer on China Visit to Bolster Trade and Economic Ties
Prince Harry Says Sacrifices of NATO Forces in Afghanistan Deserve ‘Respect’ After Trump Remarks
Barron Trump Emerges as Key Remote Witness in UK Assault and Rape Trial
Nigel Farage Attended Davos 2026 Using HP Trust Delegate Pass Linked to Sasan Ghandehari
Gold Jumps More Than 8% in a Week as the Dollar Slides Amid Greenland Tariff Dispute
BlackRock Executive Rick Rieder Emerges as Leading Contender to Succeed Jerome Powell as Fed Chair
Boston Dynamics Atlas humanoid robot and LG CLOiD home robot: the platform lock-in fight to control Physical AI
United States under President Donald Trump completes withdrawal from the World Health Organization: health sovereignty versus global outbreak early-warning access
FBI and U.S. prosecutors vs Ryan Wedding’s transnational cocaine-smuggling network: the fight over witness-killing and cross-border enforcement
Trump Administration’s Iran Military Buildup and Sanctions Campaign Puts Deterrence Credibility on the Line
Apple and OpenAI Chase Screenless AI Wearables as the Post-iPhone Interface Battle Heats Up
Tech Brief: AI Compute, Chips, and Platform Power Moves Driving Today’s Market Narrative
NATO’s Stress Test Under Trump: Alliance Credibility, Burden-Sharing, and the Fight Over Strategic Territory
OpenAI’s Money Problem: Explosive Growth, Even Faster Costs, and a Race to Stay Ahead
Trump Reverses Course and Criticises UK-Mauritius Chagos Islands Agreement
Elizabeth Hurley Tells UK Court of ‘Brutal’ Invasion of Privacy in Phone Hacking Case
UK Bond Yields Climb as Report Fuels Speculation Over Andy Burnham’s Return to Parliament
America’s Venezuela Oil Grip Meets China’s Demand: Market Power, Legal Shockwaves, and the New Rules of Energy Leverage
TikTok’s U.S. Escape Plan: National Security Firewall or Political Theater With a Price Tag?
Trump’s Board of Peace: Breakthrough Diplomacy or a Hostile Takeover of Global Order?
Trump’s Board of Peace: Breakthrough Diplomacy or a Hostile Takeover of Global Order?
The Greenland Gambit: Economic Genius or Political Farce?
The Greenland Gambit: Economic Genius or Political Farce?
The Greenland Gambit: Economic Genius or Political Farce?
Will AI Finally Make Blue-Collar Workers Rich—or Is This Just Elite Tech Spin?
Prince William to Make Official Visit to Saudi Arabia in February
Prince Harry Breaks Down in London Court, Says UK Tabloids Have Made Meghan Markle’s Life ‘Absolute Misery’
Malin + Goetz UK Business Enters Administration, All Stores Close
EU and UK Reject Trump’s Greenland-Linked Tariff Threats and Pledge Unified Response
UK Deepfake Crackdown Puts Intense Pressure on Musk’s Grok AI After Surge in Non-Consensual Explicit Images
Prince Harry Becomes Emotional in London Court, Invokes Memory of Princess Diana in Testimony Against UK Tabloids
UK Inflation Rises Unexpectedly but Interest Rate Cuts Still Seen as Likely
AI vs Work: The Battle Over Who Controls the Future of Labor
Buying an Ally’s Territory: Strategic Genius or Geopolitical Breakdown?
AI Everywhere: Power, Money, War, and the Race to Control the Future
Trump vs the World Order: Disruption Genius or Global Arsonist?
Trump vs the World Order: Disruption Genius or Global Arsonist?
Trump vs the World Order: Disruption Genius or Global Arsonist?
Trump vs the World Order: Disruption Genius or Global Arsonist?
Arctic Power Grab: Security Chessboard or Climate Crime Scene?
Starmer Steps Back from Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ Amid Strained US–UK Relations
Prince Harry’s Lawyer Tells UK Court Daily Mail Was Complicit in Unlawful Privacy Invasions
UK Government Approves China’s ‘Mega Embassy’ in London Amid Debate Over Security and Diplomacy
Trump Cites UK’s Chagos Islands Sovereignty Shift as Justification for Pursuing Greenland Acquisition
UK Government Weighs Australia-Style Social Media Ban for Under-Sixteens Amid Rising Concern Over Online Harm
Trump Aides Say U.S. Has Discussed Offering Asylum to British Jews Amid Growing Antisemitism Concerns
UK Seeks Diplomatic De-escalation with Trump Over Greenland Tariff Threat
Prince Harry Returns to London as High Court Trial Begins Over Alleged Illegal Tabloid Snooping
High-Speed Train Collision in Southern Spain Kills at Least Twenty-One and Injures Scores
×