Zoom News : Nov 25, 2021, 07:42 AM
Magdalena Andersson resigned from the position of the first female prime minister of Sweden after the collapse of the coalition with the Green Party.She had been newly elected and was the prime minister of the country for less than 12 hours. Andersson told a news conference, "I have asked the speaker to be relieved of my duties as prime minister." "I am ready to be prime minister in a single-party, Social Democrat government," she added.Andersson was able to clinch a last-minute deal that gave her victory by the slimmest of possible margins.Centre Party leader Annie Loof told reporters "We cannot support a budget from a government which is moving far to the left, which we think the incoming government is doing."Meanwhile, Green co-leader Marta Stenevi said "It is ... not the Green Party's job in politics to implement a budget negotiated with the Sweden Democrats."The change comes as the Social Democrats currently hover close to their lowest-ever approval ratings with elections less than a year away.The 54-year-old was previously the country's finance minister since 2014.Ahead of the country's September 2022 general election, her predecessor, Stefan Lofven had resigned to give his successor time to prepare.The COVID-19 pandemic exposed gaps in the much-vaunted welfare state with the death rate in Sweden much higher than in neighbouring Nordic countries.