2021 Swedish government crisis

Prime Minister Stefan Löfven is re-elected in the Riksdag on 7 July 2021.

A government crisis began on 21 June 2021 in Sweden after the Riksdag ousted Prime Minister Stefan Löfven with a no-confidence vote.[1][2] This was the first time in Swedish history a Prime Minister was ousted by a no-confidence vote.[3][4] After winning the 2014 Swedish general election, the Löfven II Cabinet's government budget was rejected by the Riksdag, causing a government crisis that lasted for nearly a month.[5] The 2021 government crisis was the second government crisis suffered by a Löfven cabinet. The vote was called on 17 June 2021 by the Sweden Democrats after the Swedish Left Party withdrew support for Löfven over rent control reform, which is an important issue for many voters.[6]

After a week in which he had to decide either to resign or declare a snap election,[7] Löfven chose to resign on 28 June, meaning that the Speaker of the Riksdag Andreas Norlén was tasked to find a Prime Minister the Riksdag could tolerate.[8] In the meantime, Löfven remained as Prime Minister but only as part of a caretaker government.[9] On 7 July, Löfven was re-elected by the Riksdag, as 173 MPs voted against him out of the 175 necessary for a candidate to fail such a vote. The Löfven III Cabinet was officially formed and installed on 9 July.[10]

  1. ^ "Sweden faces political uncertainty as PM Lofven ousted by parliament". Reuters. 21 June 2021. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  2. ^ Radio, Sveriges (21 June 2021). "Stefan Löfven fälls av riksdagen - Nyheter (Ekot)". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Historiskt: Riksdagen saknar förtroende för Stefan Löfven". bulletin.nu (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Regeringen faller efter historisk omröstning". www.aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). 21 June 2021. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Regeringskrisen stor nyhet i Norden". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 2 December 2014. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Swedish PM faces no-confidence vote, what happens now?". Reuters. 18 June 2021. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Regeringen Löfven har fällts – detta händer nu". Omni (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Stefan Löfven avgår som statsminister – nya talmansrundor väntar". Sveriges Television (in Swedish). 28 June 2021. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Statsministern leder en övergångsregering". Regeringskansliet (in Swedish). 28 June 2021. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  10. ^ Toresson, Jenny (7 July 2021). "Stefan Löfven blir statsminister igen". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 7 July 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.