Stefan Lofven becomes the first Swedish PM to lose a no-confidence vote

HOUSING IS A sensitive political issue everywhere, but in Sweden it is especially touchy. Over two-thirds of the country’s municipalities say they have housing shortages. Authorities estimated the total shortfall at 160,000 units in 2018, in a country with 5m dwellings. The price of a villa in Stockholm has risen 19% in the past year. All the country’s rental units, whether public or private, are subject to rent control, making everyone’s rent a matter of government policy.So it is not surprising that when Stefan Lofven became the first Swedish prime minister to lose a no-confidence vote this week, it was over housing policy. Mr Lofven, a Social Democrat, is a canny survivor who stayed in power after an indecisive election in 2018 by forging a minority coalition with Sweden’s small Green Party. To do so he reached a confidence-and-supply deal with a smorgasbord of other outfits: the right-leaning and mostly rural Centre Party, the laisser-faire Liberals and the socialist Left Party. On June 21st the Left Party defected, joining three parties on the right to vote Mr Lofven’s cabinet out.