The Swedish prime minister will step down in November before the 2022 election

STOCKHOLM, Aug 22 (Reuters) – Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven surprised many on Sunday by saying he would resign in November before the September 2022 general election to give his successor a chance to improve his position. Social Democrats at the polls.

Lofven has been prime minister since 2014 and leads two coalition governments with the Green Party that have grown from crisis to crisis, unable to command a majority in parliament.

The latest setback saw Lofven, a former welder and union leader, resign in June after losing the censure vote.

Parliament returned him to office in July when the leader of the largest opposition party, the moderates, did not get enough support to form a new government. Read more

“In next year’s election campaign, the Social Democrats will be led by someone other than me,” Lofven said at the end of the summer’s annual speech. “Everything has an end and I want to give my successor the best conditions.”

He said he would leave office at the party congress in November.

Lofven’s Social Democrats have dominated Swedish politics for generations, but their support, like that of center-left parties in much of Europe, has gradually eroded.

In addition, the rise of Sweden’s Democrats, a populist and anti-immigration party, has made it almost impossible to form majority governments.

Social Democrats are likely to benefit before the election from having a new leader, Uppsala University political scientist Torsten Svensson told Reuters.

“The fact that he takes the initiative himself, not resigning after explicit demands, and the fact that they manage to start the election campaign with a new face is a big advantage,” he said.

Possible successors to Lofven include current Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson, Health Minister Lena Hallengren, and Home Secretary Mikael Damberg said.

Lofven took over the leadership of the Social Democrats in 2012, when his support was at historic lows and he managed to return them to power after eight years of center-right rule.

He won a second term in 2018, but only when two center-right parties swapped sides, leaving Lofven caught between his demands and those of the Left Party, which he has also needed support for.

His successor is likely to have similar problems, as opinion polls show that the center-right and center-left blocs are still blocked. Currently, the government does not have the support it will need to approve a budget in the fall.

Magnus Hagevi, a political scientist at Linnaeus University, said the resignation was not a surprise given that Lofven had been working for a long time.

“It does so at a time that gives the successor the opportunity to put himself in his shoes before the next parliamentary elections,” he said, adding that possible successors include Energy Minister Anders Ygeman, and Andersson.

Report by Anna Ringstrom Additional report by Simon Johnson Edited by David Clarke, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Frances Kerry

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