Swedish PM Stefan Lofven resigns after losing a vote of no-confidence

Swedish prime minister Stefan Lofven has resigned a week after becoming the country’s first leader to lose a no-confidence vote.

The Social Democrat leader asked the speaker of the Parliament to start the search for a replacement rather than call for an immediate election.

A snap election was “not what is best with Sweden,” he said at a press conference, pointing out the difficult situation of the Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with the fact that the next general elections are a year from now.

“With that starting point, I have requested the speaker to relieve me as prime minister,” Lofven said.

The center-left and center-right blocs in parliament are currently evenly balanced, and opinion polls indicate that a general election would not change the situation.

Given the difficult Covid-19 position and the fact that the next general election is less than a year away, Lofven stated that a hasty election would be “not what is best for Sweden.”

Lofven, 63, a former welder and boxing leader, led Sweden in 2014 to power, and then stuck to power by bringing its party closer to center after the 2018 elections.