Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and his wife Ulla Löfven arriving to the Swedish Parliament Riksdagen in Stockholm on Tuesday — AFP STOCKHOLM, Sept 25 (AFP): Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven lost a no-confidence vote in parliament on Tuesday and will step down after four years in power, but with neither major political bloc holding a majority it remained unclear who will form the next government.
Voters delivered a hung parliament in the Sept. 9 election with Lofven's centre-left bloc garnering 144 seats, one more than the centre-right opposition Alliance.
The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, with 62 seats and shunned by all parties since entering parliament in 2010, backed the Alliance in the vote - an obligatory test of the prime minister's parliamentary support after an election.
“But lacking a majority, he needs support either from the Sweden Democrats, with roots in the white supremacist fringe, or the centre left.
"If the Alliance parties choose to try to govern as the smallest bloc, then they make themselves totally dependent on the Sweden Democrats," Lofven said.
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