Swedish government toppled in no confidence vote
Sweden’s parliament has passed a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Stefan Lofven.
A total of 181 of the 349 MPs voted in favor of the motion, with 51 abstentions. It is the first time in Swedish history that a prime minister has been ousted in such a vote.
The Social Democrat leader has a week to resign or call a snap election.
The decision came after a dispute over rent controls led the Left party to withdraw its support for the coalition.
The result means a collapse of the Social Democrat’s minority coalition government with the Green Party.
If the prime minister decides to step down, the parliament’s speaker will have to begin cross-party negotiations to form a new government.
The vote was proposed by the nationalist Sweden Democrats and backed by two center-right opposition parties.
Any new government would remain in place until general elections, which are set to take place in September next year.