Who is Anna-Karin Hatt and why does her new role as Centre Party leader matter?
The Centre Party's election committee has nominated a leader to take over the reins of the struggling party. But who is Anna-Karin Hatt and why is her new role so crucial?
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"Anna-Karin Hatt is the candidate who has by far received the most nominations when we've asked the various parts of the Centre Party," Anders Åkesson, chair of the party's election committee, told reporters at a press conference to announce their pick.
He described Hatt as the candidate the party "wants and needs".
"She is a political heavyweight with long experience from both politics and business," Swedish news agency TT quoted him as saying.
Who is Anna-Karin Hatt?
Hatt is currently the CEO of the Federation of Swedish Farmers (LRF), a major organisation for people and businesses in the agriculture and forestry industry.
Another one of her top-level positions since leaving politics is being the former CEO of employers' organisation Almega, a significant player in the Swedish business world.
"Perhaps with my experience I can build a few bridges between business and politics. I myself believe that's truly needed and would benefit the continued development of Sweden," she told the press conference after her largely unexpected nomination.
Hatt was among the most popular candidates to take over after Muharrem Demirok stepped down in February, but left professional politics more than ten years ago and had only a week prior to her nomination dismissed the idea that she would be returning any time soon.
She took on her first role for the Centre Party in 1991 as a local politician in Hylte, a municipality in south-western Sweden with a population of just over 10,000. She was IT minister in Fredrik Reinfeldt's centre-right coalition government from 2010 to 2014.
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Why does Hatt matter?
It's easy to think of her appointment as a minor event in the Swedish political calendar – the Centre Party is after all polling at no more than 3.6 percent, according to public broadcaster SVT and pollsters Verian. But that would be a mistake. Let us explain.
Swedish party politics is these days based on minority governments having to form coalitions with smaller parties, which gives some parties the role of kingmakers.
The Centre Party is one of those parties that could go either way.
It has in the past collaborated with the Christian Democrats, Liberals and Moderates on the right-wing side of politics, but refuses to work with the far-right Sweden Democrats, which effectively bars it from working with the bloc currently running the country.
The party also refuses to work with the Left Party, which is one of the four parties in the left-wing bloc, meaning it has found it difficult to find a place in the new political climate.
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It has however in recent years leaned more towards the left than the right, which is not entirely uncontroversial. In fact, internal criticism of Demirok's perceived attempts to get the party to officially unite behind Social Democrat opposition leader Magdalena Andersson as prime minister is believed to have partly sparked his departure.
Sweden's two political blocs have a roughly even split of votes. The current ruling bloc has 176 seats, whereas the opposition including the Centre Party has 173 seats.
So if the new leader of the Centre Party were to switch allegiances, it would be a shift to the right for Swedish politics and make it impossible for the left wing to form a government under the Social Democrats, unless strange things were to happen.
Hatt avoided taking a stance when fielding questions at the press conference.
"I can promise you that we will of course arrive at a clear approach well in advance of the next election. I haven't been part of those discussions, but I look forward to taking part in them," she said, using her ten-year political hiatus to her advantage.
Anything else I need to know?
She isn't technically party leader yet. The Centre Party will formally appoint its new leader at an EGM on May 3rd. However, based on the fact that Hatt is the election committee's nominee and enjoys wide support within the party, she's likely to win.
Politics in Sweden is The Local's weekly analysis, guide or look ahead to what's coming up in Swedish politics. Update your newsletter settings to receive it directly to your inbox.
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