Morgan Johansson No Confidence Vote Fails

The Swedish parliament has voted in favour of Justice Minister Morgan Johansson remaining seated after a coalition of right leaning opposition parties initiated a vote of no confidence in the minister.

• The government of Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson holds a razer thin margin in the Riksdag and ahead of the vote 174 of 349 lawmakers spoke in favour of Johansson.
• Andersson said that she, and her government, would resign if the vote went against Johansson. A move which would precipitate a political crisis during a critical period for Swedish security as the government tries to navigate a Turkish blockade of Stockholm's NATO bid.
• The deciding vote was cast by Amineh Kakabaveh the independent member of parliament of Iranian Kurdish descent whose vote also confirmed Andersson’s appointment as prime minister last year.
• The crisis appears likely to persist despite the failure of the vote as Sweden grapples with concessions to be made to Ankara on historical and political ties with Kurdish groups.
• Turkey has demanded the extradition of Kakabaveh and although this is highly unlikely is does pose some challenging questions for a government which conceded to demands from Kakabaveh last year to publicly condemn Turkish President Recep Erdogan and voice support for Turkish Kurds in order to form a government .
• In remarks before the vote Kakabaveh said: 'My trust in Morgan Johansson is unbroken.'