(This story has been updated throughout.)
LONDON — Sweden’s first female prime minister on Thursday resigned less than two hours after forming a minority coalition government following an inconclusive general election that highlighted voters’ growing unease with globalisation.
Sweden’s economic growth remains buoyant, unemployment is low and investment is climbing, but the economy is also mired in a skills crisis while rising immigration from the Middle East and Africa have taken a heavy toll on the Scandinavian country’s social fabric.
Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson was sworn in by King Carl XVI Gustaf at a formal ceremony in Stockholm at which the King asked her to form a government but did not set a deadline.
“The (election) result makes it difficult to form a stable government in the short term,” Carl XVI Gustaf said at the presidential palace.
By resigning she will remain in office as prime minister for as long as the process of forming a new government takes place.
“I do not want any groundless speculation,” Andersson told reporters at the presidential palace. “I will refrain from making more comments until that process takes place.”
If she cannot get the government to work in the coming weeks, Her replacement will be announced.
[Editor’s note: This story has been updated to add information.]