Sweden: controversial rent regulation law forces prime minister to resign

Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Lofven, today announced his resignation, one week after losing a vote of no confidence in Parliament promoted by the Left Party because of the unrest linked to the regulations that will govern the price of rents in newly built apartments. For the moment, the current administration will continue to rule the country temporarily.

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In particular, the resistance that the regulation had generated was that landlords will be able to set market prices on new rents. And the groups a priori favorable to deregulation -the Moderate Party, Christian Democrats and Democrats of Sweden- They took the opportunity to dismiss Lofvencited agencies.

“It was not an easy decision, but someone has to stand up for tenants in Sweden “, justified the leader of the Left Party, Nooshi Dadgostar.

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In any case, Lofven was at the head of a minority government which he was only able to form after four months of negotiations with the Greens and the external support of two small liberal groups.

But on June 21, Parliament passed the censure motion against the Prime Minister by 181 votes in favor, exceeding the 175 votes required out of Parliament’s 349 seats.

“I asked to be removed from my post as Prime Minister”, Lofven explained at a press conference and added that “one year from the next elections and In the midst of a pandemic, an early election is not the best option for Sweden“.

“I have always said that we should look for the best for the country, we can’t get into political games“was quoted by the newspaper Aftonbladet. Specify that this decision “is the most difficult” he has had to make to date and added that the Speaker of Parliament “must start working for propose a prime minister who has the support of the Riksdag. “

“I don’t think most voters want to vote early, and I think they want the representatives they elect to work hard to resolve the situation. After the epidemic, people are tired, a lot of people have lost. their jobs and many need to recover They expect us to solve it, ”he said.