Next Swedish PM to face gang violence and rise of far right

FILE PHOTO: Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven addresses a news conference, after parliament passed a bill giving the government the temporary power to adopt new measures to slow the COVID-19 pandemic, in Stockhom, Sweden January 8, 2021. Fredrik Sandberg/TT News Agency/via REUTERS

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's Social Democrats will pick a new leader in November to replace Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, needing to find a flag-bearer who can convince voters the party can stop a tide of gang violence and restore the welfare state after the pandemic.

Lofven, who leads a minority government, will step down less than a year ahead of a election due in September 2022. Polls so far show an even split between a broadly leftish grouping and a right-wing opposition alliance of parties including the far-right, populist Sweden Democrats.