Swedish government toppled in no-confidence vote

STOCKHOLM, June 22 ------ Sweden's government was toppled on Monday after Stefan Lofven became the country's first prime minister to lose a no-confidence vote, meaning he can now either resign or trigger a snap election. The motion of no confidence was filed on Thursday by the far-right Sweden Democrats, after the Left Party, which has been propping up the government, said it was planning such a motion itself in protest against a government plan to ease rent controls.

The conservative Moderate Party and the Christian Democrats were quick to back the motion, which was passed by 181 MPs in the 349-seat parliament. Critics have described the constellation as an "unholy alliance" of parties at opposite ends of the political spectrum. After 11 unsuccessful no-confidence votes in modern Swedish political history, Lofven, who has previously distinguished himself by his ability to survive political crises, becomes the first head of government to be ousted in this way.

Lofven now has a week to either announce a snap election or resign, leaving it up to the speaker of parliament, Andreas Norlen, to open negotiations with the parties to find a new prime minister. Speaking at a press conference after the vote, Lofven did not announce a decision, noting he had a week to speak with other parties and to evaluate his options. He added that his focus would remain doing "what is best for Sweden." Should he leave it up to Norlen to find a new prime minister, analysts said that Lofven could be chosen again.

"No matter what happen now, I and my party will be available to, together with others, shoulder the responsibility to lead the country," Lofven said. In any case, the government will stay on temporarily to handle routine tasks until a new administration is formed.

Source: gmanetwork.com