She may soon be the first woman to hold the post of Prime Minister in Sweden. Thursday, November 4, the Social Democratic delegates, meeting in congress in Gothenburg, should elect Magdalena Andersson, 54, at the head of the party, to succeed Stefan Löfven. Minister of Finance since 2014, she should then replace him at the head of the government, on condition of obtaining the support of Parliament, in a vote organized in the coming weeks.
Leader of the Social Democratic Party since 2012 and head of government since 2014, Stefan Löfven announced on August 22 that he wanted to hand over, one year from the legislative elections, scheduled for September 2022. In the ranks of the party, the idea quickly took hold that a woman was needed to succeed him. The fact that in 132 years of existence, the Social Democrats have been ruled only by men – with the exception of a short period between 2007 and 2011, under Mona Sahlin -, and that Sweden is the the only country in northern Europe never to have been ruled by a woman, was becoming a source of embarrassment.
Stefan Löfven has never hidden that he considered his finance minister as his runner-up. Nominated by all the regional districts and the youth movement (SSU), Magdalena Andersson quickly emerged as the only candidate. Among the Social Democrats, we recall that such a unity had not been seen since 1986 and the election of Ingvar Carlsson, after the assassination of Prime Minister Olof Palme, to whom Magdalena Andersson is often compared, for her talents as a orator and her protrusions often creaking against her opponents.
No sooner had his name started to circulate than criticisms surfaced, reproaching him for his “Coldness”, her ” hardness “ and “His difficulty in making compromises”. Member of Parliament and President of the Association of Social Democratic Women, Annika Strandhäll denounces the sexism of the attacks, proof that the glass ceiling is hard to pierce: “We never say of a politician that he is tough, on the pretext that he is determined and shows authority in a position like his. “
“The most stingy in Europe”
Anna Ekström, Minister of Education, served seven years alongside him in government. For her, Magdalena Andersson provokes because “ she says what she thinks and thinks what she says, which is quite unusual in Sweden, where we try to find common ground and avoid conflicts ”. If Magdalena Andersson had been a man, continues Mme Ekström, “We would have spoken of a strong leader”.
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