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Swedish PM to step down in Nov ahead of 2022 elections

In July, Lofven became Prime Minister for a third consecutive term shortly after becoming the first Swedish premier to be forced to resign following a no-confidence vote.

Swedish PM to step down in Nov ahead of 2022 elections

Swedish PM Stefan Lofven (Photo: Twitter)

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said that he will step down in November.
The unexpected announcement by the leader of the Social Democratic Party was made on Sunday during his annual summer speech, reports xinhua news agency.

“I have been party chairman for 10 years, and Prime Minister for seven,” he was quoted by local media as saying. “But everything has an end, and I want to give my successor the very best conditions,” Lofven added.

In July, Lofven became Prime Minister for a third consecutive term shortly after becoming the first Swedish premier to be forced to resign following a no-confidence vote.

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Following his unexpected announcement on Sunday, he told Swedish Television that until recently he was set on continuing for the next mandate period and that he only made the decision to step down during the summer.

He said his decision is meant to give his party better chances in the next general election scheduled for September 2022. It was not yet clear who would replace Lofven.

“In next year’s election campaign the Social Democrats will be led by someone else than me,” Lofven said at the end of his annual summer speech. “Everything has an end and I want to give my successor the very best conditions.”

Lofven’s Social Democrats have dominated Swedish politics for generations, but their support – like that of left-of-center parties across much of Europe – has gradually eroded.

In addition, the rise of the Sweden Democrats, a populist, anti-immigration party, has made forming majority governments almost impossible.

The Social Democrats will probably benefit ahead of the elections from having a new leader, Uppsala University political scientist Torsten Svensson told Reuters.

“The fact he takes the initiative himself, not resigning after explicit demands for it, and the fact they get to launch the election campaign with a new face is a big plus,” he said.

Lofven’s possible successors include current Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson, Health Minister Lena Hallengren, and Minister of the Interior Mikael Damberg, he said.

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