November 25, 2021

"Sweden on Wednesday confirmed Magdalena Andersson as its first female leader.... Hours after assuming office, Andersson resigned from the post..."

"... when a member of the ruling coalition, the center-left Swedish Green party, quit the government in protest after lawmakers passed a budget bill backed by three right-wing parties. Andersson’s Social Democratic Party had put forward an alternative budget proposal that failed to pass. Andersson said she hopes to form a single-party ruling government. Andersson had briefly joined the ranks of around two dozen current female heads of state and government.... Around half of those women head European countries."


I had trouble understanding that. The article is much more concerned about generic female achievement than explaining what happened in Sweden. The top-rated comment supplies what I think is the actual news:
The article is misleading.

Andersson's party, the Social Democrats, initially formed an administration that included the Green Party. Hours later, the Green Party withdrew in protest over a budget bill. This was already a minority administration (meaning the parties that comprised it don't have a majority in parliament).

Andersson didn't "resign"—she agreed it was best to dissolve the administration entirely and start negotiations over. It would have been questionable of her to resist that process. She stated she does not want to govern without a clear mandate.

As the article states, she hopes to form a new administration only comprised of the Social Democrats. Whether this is the case, or whether they team up with another party, she will almost certainly be the Prime Minister for whatever administration they form next. Her ousting is temporary. Any other result of the re-negotiations would be very surprising.

Multi-party parliamentary systems, especially those with many small parties, can be puzzling to American readers. The idea that you vote for a party, not a person, and that the parties negotiate to form an administration is also a foreign concept. I know the NYT [sic] assumed a level of education among its readers, but the comments show that readers are clearly confused. I don't blame them; this article framed things in a misleading way and did not provide enough context.

I hope this was helpful, fellow readers.

25 comments:

Mr Wibble said...

No, we understand quite well what happened. We just find it funny that the system was so unstable that a government collapsed within hours.

Original Mike said...

Does established media perform any useful function anymore?

Wince said...

Didn't Woodrow Wilson argue that a parliamentary system was preferable congressional government because it would engender more party accountability?

Riiight.

Richard said...

This is parliamentary government. For the longest time, whenever it happened in Italy, the headlines would be, "ITALIAN GOVERNMENT FALLS!!"

cubanbob said...

Even by Italian standards that's a record breaker.

Yancey Ward said...

"...center-left Green Party". Sure, center left.

Narr said...

Speaking as a shallow person with as much as 5% Swedish genes, I'm disappointed that she's not hot.

Anyway, aren't all the Swedes dying out because of loose Covid rules? They should at least be on the Endangered Species List, like the Kurds.

Fernandinande said...

I had trouble understanding that.

#metoo

She stated she does not want to govern without a clear mandate.

So someone else gets to govern without a clear mandate?

The idea that you vote for a party, not a person, and that the parties negotiate to form an administration is also a foreign concept.

It still makes little sense - "she agreed it was best to dissolve the administration entirely and start negotiations over." Why not just start the negotiations over without "dissolving the administration" (= her resigning?)

Yancey Ward said...

She can only form a minority government if she gets a majority of the Swedish legislature to agree to approve it. The Greens were in some of the executive posts and provided some of the support for getting the minority government approved in the first place (some of the support had to have been given by the "right wing parties" that approved the original budget. I am guessing, after a few days, the Greens will come back to the table in exchange for, maybe, an additional executive office or two, and the minority government will again get approved, but they will likely have to accept that they won't set the budget. It is either that or new elections.

Fernandinande said...

Speaking of Sweden, "Joe Biden Wins Nobel Prize For His Incredible First Day As President"

"Biden will be awarded the Nobel Prize in all 6 categories:

Physics - For miraculously causing the sea levels to lower by signing the Paris Climate Accord

Chemistry - For his incredible chemistry with the American people

Medicine - For administering life-saving vaccines to millions of people after Trump selfishly hoarded them in his basement

Literature - For writing some of the most compelling speeches and most beautiful tweets ever written

Peace - For ensuring a peaceful transfer of power with 30,000 National Guard troops

Economic Sciences - For raising the minimum wage-- something no one has ever tried before"

Humperdink said...

So it was a strategic retreat. Fall back and rearm.

Surprised the WaPoo headline took the frail female route.

Humperdink said...

Does this mean if the Build Back Bed-wetter bill fails, Biden will call it a lid on his woebegotten presidency?

Fernandinande said...

My BunnyHun commented "Well, it's probably a good thing she did [quit], she sounds like a real ditz."

Fritz said...

She didn't get what she wanted, so she quit.

Earnest Prole said...

Nevertheless she failed to persist.

Joe Smith said...

'"Sweden on Wednesday confirmed Magdalena Andersson as its first female leader.... Hours after assuming office, Andersson resigned from the post..."'

Sweden on Wednesday confirmed Magdalena Andersson as its first leader with a vagina....

See how silly that sounds?

John henry said...

Why can't the king just appoint whoever he wants as pm?

Like queen Elizabeth does.

John LGBTQBNY Henry

Rollo said...

Can't wait for the reboot of "Queen for a Day": "Prime Minister for Seven Hours."

In some of her photos she looks like a grown-up Greta Thunberg, but hey guys, she is at least a blonde, even if a particularly washed-out and lackluster one.

Greg The Class Traitor said...

'"Sweden on Wednesday confirmed Magdalena Andersson as its first female leader."'


How transphobic!

Shouldn't that be "Sweden on Wednesday confirmed Magdalena Andersson as its first menstruating leader"?

Leora said...

Yancey Ward "Center Left means they don't openly call for burning everything down."

Greg The Class Traitor said...

Andersson's tribulations are the result of a fragmented parliament where neither the centre-left nor centre-right blocs can form a majority government, in large part due to the rise of the anti-immigration nationalists, the Sweden Democrats.

So the problem is that the assholes in charge of the "center-right" parties are neither "center" nor "right", but just another punch of left wing asshole / grifters who hate their own country and own people.

Sad.

The problem with a parliamentary democracy is that the people can't vote in a Trump to go after the "elite's" troughs.

Like her predecessor, Andersson had hoped to govern as head of a minority coalition with the Greens with support from the Left and Centre parties. But the Centre party refused to back the budget, which prompted the Greens to quit the coalition.

So the Greens got greedy. This is my shocked face

Andersson will now try and form a single-party, minority government. Her Social Democrats have 100 seats in the 349-seat parliament. Sweden is due to hold a general election in September next year.

The "Moderate" Party has 70, and the Sweden Democrats (nationalist and "anti-immigration") has 62.

Chris Lopes said...

WaPo knows the only thing its readers really care about is the fact that the new PM has a vagina. It is her only defining characteristic.

Rollo said...

They call her "The Not Exactly Iron Lady" ...

Lucien said...

The Glass Cliff is real! Rampant Swedish misogyny!

AndrewV said...

The shortest Italian government of the post war era was when Prime Minister Fernando Tambroni's lasted 123 days back in 1960. The shortest Italian government of since unification was when Prime Minister Tommaso Tittoni was in office for only 16 days in 1905.

At 8 hours the Swedes wanted to make sure that Italy doesn't have a chance to break the break the record again for the shortest government.