It’s hard to stay neutral in a battle like this.

On Saturday, redditors from the Photoshop Battles community resurrected an emotional snapshot of Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven longingly eyeing his fellow politicians from a parliamentary seat surrounded by empty chairs.

The photo went viral in Sweden back in December 2014, but Reddit’s Photoshop Battle pros saw hidden potential in the dejected Prime Minister’s hunched posture and sad Swedish puppy-dog eyes.

If you’re not familiar with Photoshop Battles, here’s how they work: A random photo is presented. Anybody in the community can participate. All you need to do is edit the image as you please and submit your work in the comments section.

When redditors saw the photo of the lonely Löfven, they immediately began generating theories on why no one would sit with him.

User Magic_pie18 thought the answer was obvious: He was forced to don a dunce cap after being sentenced to a time out:

Redditor PicturElements, however, believed there was one element missing from this picture: the smell inside the room.

PicturElements visualized what they suspected was going on—adding this caption: “Note to self: No more beans.”

Redditor Jean-Alphonse speculated that Löfven is regularly excluded by his friends—like that time he tried to hold a meet-up for Swedish redditors and no one showed up:

According to user graphleek, this actually happens every time Löfven tries to go for a night on the town:

But the most compelling explanation came from Photoshop master (and amateur Scandinavian political theorist) DrWankalot, who punningly quipped, “Parliamentary Assembly is notoriously difficult in Sweden.”

Oh, the Swedes will never escape those IKEA jokes…

Check out the original Photoshop Battle thread to see all of redditors’ best theories on why Löfven was left out on his lonesome.

But if you’re starting to feel bad for him, recall that back in August, redditors Photoshopped another Scandinavian leader caught in an awkward candid: Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg (who made the tragic mistake of cheerfully pouring coffee).

So Löfven might still think of parliamentary seating arrangements like the cafeteria in Mean Girls, but at least he’s in good company when it comes to Photoshop Battles.