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POLITICS

OPINION: Has Sweden’s prime minister paid the price for his passivity?

Sweden's government collapsed on Monday after a vote of no confidence won enough support. The Local's columnist Lisa Bjurwald questions if the vote is the natural result of the prime minister appearing to hand over the reins on crucial issues.

Published: 21 June 2021 12:57 CEST
OPINION: Has Sweden's prime minister paid the price for his passivity?
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven hasn't appeared to be the one in charge for quite some time, writes Lisa Bjurwald. Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT

“Mr Speaker, a dishonest coalition wish to kill off the January Agreement. They have agreed on one single thing: what they are against.”

There was no lack of drama in today’s parliament showdown, where disparate political underdogs the Left Party (V), the Christian Democrats (KD), and the Sweden Democrats (SD) joined forces with the Moderate Party (M), traditionally one of the two major parties in the country, to overthrow the Swedish government.

There are, of course, several ways to regard this ambush. You might view them, like Centre Party (C) leader Annie Lööf, quoted above, as an “unholy coalition” of leftists, conservative Christians, and ultra-nationalists, lacking a roadmap of their own but nevertheless hellbent (for a bunch of differing reasons) to get rid of “passive,” “not fit to lead” social democratic Prime Minister Stefan Löfven – even if that means throwing the country into political turmoil.

Others, including leading political commentators, view the events of the last couple of days as a natural and healthy democratic cleansing process.

The current minority coalition government was always a shaky one, built on the 73-point so-called January Agreement of 2019 and confusing to many voters, who presumed it was just a temporary deal. Not so. Had the government been more stable, the Left Party’s ultimatum on rent control (which kicked off the whole process) would probably have been deemed as more irresponsible.

A majority of parliament members, 181 of a total 349, seemed to take the second position and at 10:52am Monday, the verdict was read out: the prime minister had been ousted, the first ever in Swedish political history to lose in a vote of no confidence. 175 votes were required.

“It’s nothing to applaud, but it is an expression of our vibrant democracy,” one Moderate Party lawmaker offered after the historical vote.

Is Stefan Löfven one of the first European leaders to suffer the political consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic?

Maybe, but he is certainly a victim of the whims of populist parties (in this instance, at both the far left and right of the spectrum). It’s always a risk with fringe parties and Löfven should, in hindsight, have taken the threats of the Left Party more seriously.

Leftist voters are now jubilant, having proven that their party – currently at only nine percent in the polls – is a force to be reckoned with. New Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar has certainly increased her clout as well.

The message is clear: if they don’t get their way in key issues (in this instance, the rental market), they won’t hesitate to bite the hand that feeds them.

So, what now?

Stefan Löfven has a week to decide on how to move forward and is likely to go for a snap election, as the other option would be to hand over the process of putting together a new government to the speaker of the parliament.

At least now Löfven’s got a chance to stay in power until next autumn’s regular parliamentary elections.

The problem is, the Swedish PM hasn’t seemed fit for the fight for a long time.

Handing over the Covid-19 response to the Public Health Agency may or may not have been a good idea, depending on your stance, but it’s clear that state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell appeared to be the one in charge for most of the pandemic year.

Many Swedes are sure to lament that Tegnell won’t run in a forthcoming snap election.

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POLITICS IN SWEDEN

Politics in Sweden: This year’s EU election will be a white-knuckle ride for smaller parties

With as many as three of Sweden's parties at risk of being kicked out of the European parliament, the stakes in this year's European elections are higher perhaps than ever before.

Published: 6 May 2024 16:12 CEST

According to the latest polling by Verian for Swedish public broadcaster SVT, one party – the Liberals – is already polling below the formal four percent threshold to enter the European Parliament, but two more, the Christian Democrats and the Centre Party, are worryingly close, with each polling at both 4.5 percent. 

If the poll is right, the Social Democrats are set to be the big winners in the election, gaining two additional seats, while the Left Party and the far-right Sweden Democrats are both in line to gain one additional seat.

But as well as the Liberal Party, the Centre Party, Christian Democrats, and Green Party all set to lose one seat each, but as they each currently have more than one seat, they will nonetheless keep their representation in parliament. 

Tommy Möller, a professor of politics at Stockholm University, told the TT newswire that the two parties likely to be the most worried ahead of election day on June 9th are the Liberals and the Centre Party. 

For the Liberals, it matters partly because it has long seen itself as Sweden's most pro-EU party. At its highpoint 15 years ago, it had three seats in the EU parliament, but it sank to just one in the 2020 European elections.

If the party were now to lose the last of its seats, the leadership of party chairman Johan Persson, Möller argued, would be put into question. 

"This could prompt an internal debate on party leadership," he told the TT newswire. "There's no doubt that if the Liberals, who (...) promote themselves as the most pro-EU party, lost its mandate, it would be a massive blow."  

He said he would also not rule out a leadership challenge against the Centre Party's leader Muharrem Demirok should his party lose both its seats in the EU parliament, given how badly he has struggled as leader to gain any visibility with voters .

"Obviously the Centre Party is fighting an uphill battle in the opinion polls. If it loses its seat, that would obviously add to the lack of confidence in the party leader, which could prompt an internal leadership debate," Möller said. 

For the Christian Democrats, the Verian poll is in some ways encouraging. Thus far the indications are that Folklistan, the party formed by the former Christian Democrat MEP Sara Skyttedal, is far below the 4 percent threshold, with only an estimated 1.5 percent of the vote.

While it is no doubt nibbling away at Christian Democrat support, it has so far not managed to drag the party down to the 4 percent threshold. 

Möller said he did not expect anyone to call for party leader Ebba Busch to stand down, almost regardless of the result.  

"I don't think there will be calls for her resignation, but obviously, the mandate you have as a leader is always linked to how well its going for the party in opinion polls and elections," he said.  

Return of the Greens?

Even though they are projected to lose one of their seats, if the Green Party succeeds in winning 9.5 percent of the vote on June 9th, as the polls suggest, it will still be seen as decent result, showing that the party, which has been struggling in domestic politics, at least does well in the EU elections.

If the party retains its third seat, it will be seen as a resounding victory. 

According to a popularity poll by the Aftonbladet newspaper, the party's lead MEP, Alice Bah Kuhnke, is both the second most popular politician standing in the election and the most unpopular, reflecting just how polarising party has become in Sweden. 

In the poll, 30 percent of respondents said they had high or very high confidence in Bah Kuhnke, second only to the Left Party's candidate and former leader, Jonas Sjöstedt, on 42 percent. But at the same time, 64 percent of respondents said they had "low confidence" in her.  

According to Johan Martinsson, the head of opinion research at Demoskop, who carried out the poll, this should not worry the Greens too much.

"As long as the relevant group of voters have a large amount of confidence, it doesn't really make any difference if you are despised by those who oppose you. It can almost be a good thing as it makes it easier to get attention."

Could the election mark a turnaround for the party, which has voted in two new leaders this year? 

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