Prime Minister Stefan Lofven’s call for snap elections after just two months in office has taken Sweden by surprise and has left the country's political scene in turmoil.
In a country where consensus is preferred over conflict, few observers had predicted that the far-right Sweden Democrats, which became the country’s third largest party in the September polls, would act out its threat of striking down the government's budget bill and thereby make it impossible for Lofven to govern.
But after the vote in parliament on Wednesday, when the Sweden Democrats (SD) backed the opposition’s rival budget, the political chaos was complete.
Lofven was left with only two choices - to resign or call an early election. He chose the latter, announcing that Swedes will again head to the polls on March 22 - the first early election held since 1958.
