Swedish PM Lofven's survival prospects improve as Centre drops rent reform demand

FILE PHOTO: Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven speaks during a news conference after the no-confidence vote in the Swedish parliament, in Stockholm, Sweden June 21, 2021. TT News Agency/Andres Wiklund via REUTERS

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven's hopes of surviving a political crisis looked slightly brighter on Wednesday after his allies in the Centre Party said they would drop a contested proposal for rent reform.

Lofven has led a fragile centre-left minority government of Social Democrats and Greens, supported by former political rivals the Centre Party and the Liberals, since 2018, but lost a vote of no-confidence in parliament on Monday.