(Stockholm) Elected Thursday at the head of the Social Democratic Party before undoubtedly becoming the first woman prime minister of Sweden, Magdalena Andersson has carved out at 54 years a reputation of “bulldozer” who will now have to hold the walls of a weakened Swedish left.
Heir to the resigning head of government Stefan Löfven, of whom she has been the Minister of Finance for seven years, this economist who graduated from Sweden’s largest business school is coming to the helm with less than a year of disputed elections scheduled for September 2022.
With her shoulder-length blonde hair, the former high-level swimmer defines herself as a “nice and hard-working woman” who likes to decide.
But politically, she has built a reputation as a strong woman, sure of herself, with a direct tone that destabilizes in an often policed Sweden, underline the experts interviewed by AFP.
“People have even said that they were afraid of her, which is quite funny when it comes to professors of economics or elite political scientists”, advances Anders Lindberg, head of the political service of the daily Aftonbladet, close to the social democrats.
A recent program about him was titled “The Bulldozer” on public television SVT.
“Frugal”
In Brussels, this self-proclaimed “stingy” carries the Swedish line made of budgetary moderation until forming last year with Austria, the Netherlands and Denmark the small club of “frugal” opposed to too big a plan of European relaunch. She also took over the chairmanship of an advisory committee to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last year.
“She has a way of arguing that reminds a bit of Angela Merkel, what she means is not always completely clear, but she ends up winning because no one else can answer because she masters all the details ”, portrayed Anders Lindberg.
The Congress of Social Democrats, meeting in Gothenburg, elected her by acclamation in a vote in which she is alone in the running. She will then have to win a more difficult vote in Parliament, the date of which is not yet known, to become prime minister.
That it was not until 2021 to see a woman head of government is a historical near-anomaly in a Sweden champion of gender equality.
For Magdalena Andersson, this premiere sounds like a poisoned gift as the Social Democrats are near their all-time lows in the polls and worn out by seven years in power.
It will have to counter the conservative party of moderates, which has cut the cordon sanitaire with the anti-immigration party of the Democrats of Sweden (SD) and is now ready to govern with its support in Parliament.
“Good little soldier”
A major political shift in Sweden at the end of a decade of breakthrough by the far right, fueled by hostility to the large influx of refugees, before a turn of the screw decided by Stefan Löfven in 2015-2016.
Close to her predecessor, Magdalena Andersson has a singularly different path from the former steelworker unionist.
“She likes to present herself today as a good little soldier who organized coffee breaks and buttered sandwiches at party meetings. But it comes from an intellectual elite, ”summarizes Jonas Hinnfors, professor of political science at the University of Gothenburg.
Born in Uppsala, the academic capital of Sweden, this unique daughter of an academic and a teacher first distinguished herself in the pools, where she stood out for her determination and ended up Swedish junior swimming champion.
In parallel with her brilliant studies – the “Handels” of Stockholm, the Swedish equivalent of HEC, supplemented by a stint at Harvard, she plunges into the life of “sosse”, a social democratic activist.
Member of the youth branch, SSU, since she was 16, she became an assistant to Prime Minister Göran Persson in 1996 and alternated functions within the party and senior civil servant positions.
” It’s someone […] that comes from within the system, ”according to Anders Lindberg.
Rather marked at the start on the left wing, she followed “in pragmatics” the centrist turn of her party, notes Mr. Hinnfors.
Its first challenge will be to impose its mark, according to analysts.
Under her rather BCBG style, the fifty-something, married to a teacher from “Handels” and mother of two children, conceals some surprises. Like his favorite song: “BYO B” from the heavy metal band System of a Down.