Swedish parliament elects Social Democrat leader as new PM for second time

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Swedish parliament for the second time in less than a week elected Social Democrat Magdalena Andersson as new prime minister on Monday, leaving the country’s first female premier to navigate a fragmented and fraught political landscape.

The former finance minister won a similar vote last week but threw in the towel only hours later after a junior coalition partner abandoned the government over a lost budget vote.

Andersson will now form a minority government consisting only of her own party.

The Social Democrats hold 100 seats in the 349-seat parliament and will have to rely on support from several other parties to implement policy. Not since 1979 has a government commanded so little direct support in parliament.

Complicating the picture, Andersson will have to govern on a budget in part formulated by three opposition parties, including the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, whose gains over the past decade lie at heart of Sweden’s political turmoil.

Her tenuous hold on power is due to a deadlocked parliament where neither the centre-left nor centre-right can form a majority on their own.

An election due in September next year may not bring any further clarity as polls show little change in the overall political balance.