Löfven III Cabinet 2021
Brief Social Democrat–Green transitional minority cabinet (S+MP) under Stefan Löfven, sworn in July 2021 after the Midsummer no-confidence vote and the collapse of the Januariavtalet. Functioned as a stabiliser to avoid a snap election during the pandemic, then voluntarily wound down to enable Magdalena Andersson's succession in November 2021.
The Löfven III Cabinet, headed by Stefan Löfven, was sworn in on 9 July 2021 after Löfven requested formal dismissal on 28 June 2021 in the wake of the Midsummer no-confidence vote against the Löfven II Cabinet. The composition was substantively the same S+MP coalition as before. The crucial change was the parliamentary basis — the Januariavtalet had collapsed, leaving the cabinet without a binding agreement.
The cabinet operated under negativ parlamentarism — no formal coalition pact; tolerance from Centerpartiet, Vänsterpartiet, and Miljöpartiet was sufficient because the Riksdag could not assemble a counter-majority for an alternative prime minister. Its purpose was not to push a programme but to stabilise the situation — a snap election during the pandemic was the alternative the parties wanted to avoid.
In substance the cabinet managed the final phase-out of broad COVID-19 restrictions and at times had to govern on the opposition’s budget, since the absence of a binding parliamentary agreement made legislative momentum fragile. On 10 November 2021 Löfven voluntarily requested to end his assignment as prime minister, having already stepped down as Socialdemokraterna leader earlier that month, and the Andersson Cabinet took office on 30 November 2021 as Sweden’s first female-led government.