By Simon Johnson
STOCKHOLM, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Cooperation rather than conflict is the promise Swedish Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson is offering voters as she seeks a return to the prime minister's office in Sunday's election.
A former national level swimmer who colleagues describe as hardworking and demanding, Andersson became Sweden's first female prime minister in 2021.
She holds the record for the shortest period in office — resigning after less than 12 hours as prime minister when her coalition partner quit — although ultimately completed a 10-month term, starting again days later as the head of a single-party minority government.
As prime minister, she had to negotiate Sweden's response to the COVID pandemic and NATO application in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Despite being voted out of office in 2022, polls still show her as the politician most trusted by Swedes.
Andersson, 59, has portrayed herself as a unifying force after four years during which the centre right, backed by the far-right Sweden Democrats, have cracked down on immigration and turned away from the liberal, inclusive politics that have characterised Sweden for decades.
"Either I lead the government and bring the country together ... or you have a government where the Sweden Democrats use their platform to create division," she told reporters earlier this month.
BLOC DIFFERENCES OVER ENERGY AND TAX
Yet the message of unity masks tensions within her left-wing bloc, with parties differing on issues ranging from energy policy to taxation.
Andersson is more technocrat than torch-bearer: she carries a boiled egg in her handbag in case she gets hungry and told Swedish radio earlier this year she could not tell Hollywood actors Brad Pitt and Tom Hanks apart.
After graduating from Stockholm's prestigious School of Economics, she spent her early career in the finance department before becoming deputy director-general of Sweden's Tax Agency, returning to politics as finance minister from 2014 to 2021.
Playing on traditional Social Democratic strengths, Andersson is promising voters more spending on welfare, a fairer tax system and a focus on social cohesion.
Polls show the centre-left bloc's 10-point lead during the summer has melted away, partly over concerns about how Andersson can square the circle of ruling with parties that refuse to cooperate with each other.
If Andersson does win office she is "probably doomed to hold together a quartet that includes parties that loathe each other, but which just about loathe the Sweden Democrats more", Nick Aylott, senior lecturer in political science at Sodertorn University, said.
(Reporting by Simon Johnson; Editing by Niklas Pollard and Alison Williams)
