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Magdalena Andersson gets second shot at becoming Sweden’s next prime minister

Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson will get another chance to become Sweden's first female prime minister, after the speaker of parliament said he would nominate her for the office a second time.

Published: 25 November 2021 14:50 CET
Updated: 25 November 2021 17:22 CET
Magdalena Andersson gets second shot at becoming Sweden's next prime minister
Prime minister candidate Magdalena Andersson. Photo: Jessica Gow/TT

The Swedish parliament is now set to again vote on Andersson as prime minister on Monday.

Speaker Andreas Norlén made the announcement on Thursday afternoon after having met with the leaders of Sweden’s eight parties.

He said he would re-nominate Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson, who resigned on Wednesday just hours after having been confirmed by parliament as the country’s next prime minister.

EXPLAINED:

Andersson’s resignation was sparked by the junior Green Party choosing to quit the government coalition after parliament passed a right-wing opposition budget with amendments co-authored by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats.

The usually cautiously soft-spoken Norlén criticised the Green Party on Thursday for not informing him in advance that they were planning to quit the government if the left-wing coalition’s budget failed, before he nominated Andersson as prime minister the first time around.

“In that case I obviously would not have nominated Magdalena Andersson on Monday. I would have waited until after the budget vote,” he told a press conference. He said that the fact that a government had to resign hours after being elected “risked damaging trust” in Sweden’s political system, but stopped short of criticising Andersson, saying that the Green Party’s decision had seemed to come as a surprise to her, too.

Andersson is expected to be re-elected, with the Centre Party, Left Party and Green Party confirming they will approve (or accept, as a prime ministerial vote needs no more than a majority of abstentions) her nomination just like they did the first time.

Her minority government is then expected to be a one-party cabinet made up of only Social Democrat ministers.

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QURAN BURNINGS

Three ways Sweden could make it easier to stop Quran burnings

A new report recommends amending Sweden's Public Order Act to allow the police to prevent Quran burnings in the interest of national security.

Published: 5 July 2024 12:42 CEST
Three ways Sweden could make it easier to stop Quran burnings

The inquiry commission mandated by the Swedish government to look into whether applications for demonstrations with planned Quran burnings could be rejected on the grounds that they present a threat to national security presented its recommendations on July 5th.

The commission announced that Sweden’s Public Order Act could be amended to allow the police to prevent Quran burnings, citing national security concerns.

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The government set up the commission in response to violent protests in Muslim countries triggered by Quran burnings in Sweden in recent years.

These events included the storming of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in July 2023 and an increased terrorist threat against Sweden, prompting the authorities to investigate how the police could consider national security when deciding on permits for public gatherings, including demonstrations.

Commission recommendations

The investigation, led by Mattias Larsson, the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) head, concluded that the laws could be adjusted to allow the police to factor in Sweden’s security without violating constitutional or European laws.

Its report (which you can read in full here) presented three potential approaches.

The first approach would allow the police to impose conditions on the time or place of the gathering or outright refuse permits if the event is likely to pose a significant threat to national security, such as acts of terrorism or crimes threatening Swedish interests abroad.

The second suggested that the police could set conditions other than timing or location to safeguard national security, such as banning specific acts during the demonstration, like burning books.

The third approach proposed amending the rules to give the police more power to set conditions for the time and place of the gathering without introducing new security considerations.

All three options aim to increase the ability to cancel a public gathering if necessary to protect life and health during the event. 

These legal changes are intended to take effect on July 1st, 2025, after a period of consultation.

The broader context

The move comes after Denmark passed legislation in December 2023 criminalising the “inappropriate treatment” of religious texts, effectively banning Quran burnings.

Despite this, Sweden’s Justice Minister, Gunnar Strömmer, has previously argued against following Denmark’s approach, emphasising the importance of free speech and existing laws against hate speech.

Strömmer’s stance reflects the Swedish government’s belief that a flat-out ban is unnecessary.

Instead, the focus has been on reviewing the Public Order Act to ensure that national security considerations can be integrated into decisions about demonstration permits.

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