Stevan Löfven got 132 “yes” votes, 49 “no” votes and 154 abstentions today during Sweden's parliamentary vote for prime minister. The 154 abstentions came from the centre-right Alliance parties, the Moderates, Christian Democrats, Liberals and the Centre Party. There were 14 absences.

Despite the fact that Lofven’s win marks a return to Social Democratic solidarity and the egalitarian Swedish welfare state, he faces a difficult task in forming a coalition government. Together, the Social Democrats and the Greens have 138 seats in the 349-member parliament, meaning their minority government needs support from other parties. "I will work hard to meet expectations," Löfven said after the vote. “We will need to present bills that the majority agree with."

Löfven's coalition isn't expected to reverse the previous government's most popular reforms, such as tax cuts for middle-income earners, nor are any dramatic shifts in foreign policy expected, but after rejecting the ex-communist Left (with 5.7%) and negotiating with the Greens (6.8%), the two parties have big policy differences. The Greens want two of Sweden’s ten nuclear reactors closed immediately, but Löfven supports nuclear power; they also want to raise taxes more than the Social Democrats do.