Swedish PM Lofven resigns

STOCKHOLM -- Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven resigned on Monday following a non-confidence vote against him on June 21.

"With one year left until the regular election, given the extraordinary situation the country is in with the ongoing pandemic (and) with the special challenges it would entail, an extra election is not what is best for Sweden," Lofven said at a press conference, adding that it was the basis of his resignation.

Elaborating on his decision, Lofven said: "I do not think the majority of the electorate wants a snap election. I think they want us elected representatives to try to resolve this situation. People are tired after the pandemic; many have lost their jobs and many need to recover. They expect us to solve it."

The country's parliament speaker is now expected to begin the work of proposing a Prime Minister candidate who can gain majority support in parliament.

The current government will continue to govern the country as a transitional one.

According to schedules, the speaker will now be tasked with trying to find options for a new viable government based on the 2018 election result. After four months of negotiations, Lofven's Social Democrats eventually formed a government together with the Green Party after striking a 73-point deal with two minor liberal parties.

One of these points involved a rent reform to let landlords charge market rates for newly-built rental apartments. Following a round of referrals, the Left Party called for a no-confidence vote citing fears it was just the start for market rates for all rental apartments. As the Left Party does not have the required number of parliamentarians to put forward such a motion on their own, it was eventually done by the anti-immigration party Sweden Democrats.

On June 21, the parliament approved the no-confidence motion on the prime minister with 181 affirmative votes, more than the required 175 votes of the 349-seat parliament.