Swedish PM Threatens to Resign in Case of No Confidence Vote to Justice Minister Over Gang Violence
© AFP 2023 / Pontus LUNDAHL / TT NEWS AGENCY
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Gun violence has been on a high level for several years in Sweden, with 2022 starting on a bloodier note than before. During the first four months alone, 26 people had been killed – as opposed to 8 in 2021.
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has proclaimed that she will resign if Justice Minister and fellow Social Democrat Morgan Johansson is felled in a no-confidence vote raised by the national-conservative Sweden Democrats.
So far, the vote of no confidence has been supported by a number of right-wing opposition parties the Moderates, the Christian Democrats, joined by the Liberals. Previously, Morgan Johansson received harsh criticism from the Parliament's constitutional committee for making untrue statements in connection with the evacuation of interpreters and local employees in Afghanistan when NATO's mission there was terminated.
The parties also believe that Johansson should be held accountable for criminal situation in Sweden's numerous “vulnerable areas” that are rife with shootings and gangland violence. The number of shootings have been at an elevated level for several years, and the start of 2022 has been bloody as well. According to police statistics, 26 people had been killed this year by the end of April. During the corresponding period last year, 8 people had been killed.
The parties also believe that Johansson should be held accountable for criminal situation in Sweden's numerous “vulnerable areas” that are rife with shootings and gangland violence. The number of shootings have been at an elevated level for several years, and the start of 2022 has been bloody as well. According to police statistics, 26 people had been killed this year by the end of April. During the corresponding period last year, 8 people had been killed.
“We have come to a point where the single most important criminal policy measure is to prematurely retire Morgan Johansson”, the Sweden Democrats' group leader Henrik Vinge said in a parliament statement.
In response, Prime Minister Andersson chastised the opposition and called its move “dangerously serious”.
“We are three months before a regular election. There is a war going on in our immediate area. We are in a sensitive position for our NATO application together with Finland. Therefore, creating a situation of political chaos and uncertainty is completely irresponsible”, she said.
According to Anderson, a government crisis is bound to follow.
“Obviously, if you remove a minister of justice on political grounds, then you remove the entire government”, she said.
Magdalena Andersson assured that she still has confidence in Morgan Johansson and suggested that the justice minister had been “working intensively” to employ more police officers and introduce harsher penalties.
Magdalena Andersson assured that she still has confidence in Morgan Johansson and suggested that the justice minister had been “working intensively” to employ more police officers and introduce harsher penalties.
The Sweden Democrats, the Moderates and the Christian Democrats form a right-wing bloc in Swedish politics. So far, the parties lack a parliamentary majority, but hope to boost their stance ahead of elections. The Sweden Democrats hope that they can arrange a no-confidence vote next week.
The latest Sweden had a government crisis was in June 2021, when the Parliament ousted Prime Minister Stefan Löfven with a no-confidence vote for the first time in history. Following a month of negotiations, Löfven was re-elected as part of a caretaker government.
