Swedish PM loses confidence vote

Stockhlom: Stefan Lofven, Sweden’s Social Democratic prime minister since 2014, lost a confidence vote in parliament on Monday, making him the first Swedish government leader ever to lose such a motion.

The development creates new political uncertainty in the Scandinavian nation after the last election in 2018 created a deadlocked parliament and months of negotiations to produce a government.

Under a timeline dictated by the Swedish Constitution, the prime



minister now has one week to decide whether to call a new election or ask the parliament speaker to find a new government.

Lofven said he wants “to take some time” though “not necessarily the whole week” to decide on his next step.

That government, a Social Democratic-Green coalition, is a minority government that has relied on votes from the small Left Party to pass laws.