Sweden PM Ousted in Confidence Vote as Political Turmoil Deepens
- Speaker now to assess who has best chance to form government
- Swedish political establishment upended by nationalist surge
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Stefan Lofven became the first Swedish prime minister to be ousted by a confidence vote in parliament as the center-right opposition and the nationalists joined forces to end four years of Social Democratic rule.
The nation now faces lengthy government talks. An election two weeks ago left Lofven’s coalition with a lead of just one seat over the Alliance opposition as the Sweden Democrats grabbed 62 seats in the 349-person legislature. With the nationalists as power-brokers, there’s no clear path to power for either of the two establishment blocs.