Tearing down what's left of socialism - Newly elected conservative PM of Sweden plans brisk reforms

Sweden's next prime minister, newly-elected Fredrik Reinfeldt, is expected to undertake brisk economic reforms he vowed to implement once in office, namely job creation, tax cuts and privatisations, analysts say.

Reinfeldt's Moderate Party and the other parties of the Alliance for Sweden made job creation the main focus of the election campaign.

"They have a very ambitious plan for opening up the labour market with several economic incentives to get people into the labour market in the short term," SEB bank chief economist Klas Eklund told AFP.

The Alliance has proposed to cut taxes for low income earners, provide subsidies to companies that hire jobless workers, and reduce generous unemployment benefits to encourage people to go to work.

Some 50,000 jobs could be created in two or three years, said Håkan Frisen, head of economic research at SEB.

"If you have these three factors together, you could actually boost the labour market quite a lot," Eklund added.

In addition, the new government plans to make it easier for small and medium-sized companies to hire people by simplifying labour legislation and cutting corporate taxes.

The fiscal incentives are intended to make it easier to hire thousands of low-skilled or unskilled people, primarily in the services sector for jobs such as household help.

The issue is important in Sweden, where the labour market is dominated by highly-skilled workers, and where manual labour black market jobs represent seven to 10 percent of the Swedish economy, Eklund said.

"It's very expensive to hire people in Sweden because they pay very high taxes and also because of lots of legislation," he said.

Reinfeldt, who at 41 has no government experience and was largely unknown on the international scene just two weeks ago, made the battle against unemployment his top priority, accusing Prime Minister Göran Persson of offering generous handouts to the unemployed during his 10 years in government instead of helping them find work.

While official statistics put unemployment at 5.7 percent in August, experts put it closer to 17 percent when people on government job creation schemes, early retirement and long-term sick leave are taken into account.

The arrival of the right-wing in the place of the Social Democrats, who had been in power since 1994, also opens the door to a wave of sell-offs of the state's holdings in a number of companies.

The future prime minister will have a plethora of companies to choose from, with the state holding minority or majority shares in 57 companies.

"The target of (the first wave of) privatisations is 100 billion kronor during the next two years," Eklund said.

The new government is expected to first sell its holdings in listed companies, before moving on to unlisted companies.

At the top of the list are the state's 45.3 percent share in telecoms operator TeliaSonera, 21.4 percent share in the airline SAS, 19.9 percent share in banking group Nordea and 6.8 percent holding in OMX.

Reinfeldt has however not committed to a timetable for the sell-offs, noted Tomas Lindberg, chief economist at Öhman Investment Bank.

"He has said they want to get the best price possible" and will wait for the best market conditions, he said.

But the time is ripe for change and the announced measures have been welcomed by the markets, economists note.

Reinfeldt takes over the country during a period of strong economic growth, in stark contrast to the last conservative government headed by Carl Bildt which took power in 1991 and immediately faced a crippling economic crisis.

"Yes, in Sweden. I didn't know him from Adam, so I took his opinions with a grain of salt. Especially after he told me that my favorite tenor, Jussi Bjoerling, was buried in the church across the street (this was in the cafe at the Opera House in Stockholm), when I know he's buried in his home town of Stora Tuna. ;)

- And he probably knows even less about GWB..

Through the internet I've become aware how appreciated Björling is by several american opera enthusiasts.

The best example of this I guess is the Jussi Björling Society of the US.

http://www.jussibjorlingsociety.com/

As a swede and an admirer of Björling I enjoyed reading these words coming from an american society of opera enthusiasts;

quote (from the site mentioned above) "Jussi Björling’s flawless vocal technique, silvery beauty of tone, gleaming upper register, and superb interpretive skills have made him one of the greatest and most beloved tenors of the century. Numerous colleagues as well as music critics have long placed Jussi at the very pinnacle of vocal excellence. It was to Jussi that Dorothy Caruso, widow of Enrico Caruso, said, "You are the only one worthy to wear his mantle, bear Rico’s crown!"

I wish more swedes appreciated Björling to the extent these people, apparently, do.

I knew I wasn't alone. ;) If you have it, or can find it on the 'net, listen to Jussi's version of "Nessun dorma", from Turandot. Franco Corelli did a technically excellent recording of the opera, but the way Bjoerling does the final attack on "Vincero" makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck, no matter how many times I've heard it.

(I forgot to say, we also stopped in Gotland on the cruise, and Visby was an unexpected treat!)

"I knew I wasn't alone. ;) If you have it, or can find it on the 'net, listen to Jussi's version of "Nessun dorma", from Turandot. Franco Corelli did a technically excellent recording of the opera, but the way Bjoerling does the final attack on "Vincero" makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck, no matter how many times I've heard it.

(I forgot to say, we also stopped in Gotland on the cruise, and Visby was an unexpected treat!)"

Concerning recordings of Björling;

- I fully agree the "Nessun Dorma" recording highlights many of Björlings qualities. Compare it to for instance the way Beniamino Gigli performed this piece. Gigli was a great tenor, but in my ears Björling was even greater.

Another recording I also feel clearly illustrates how gifted and not the least TECHNICALLY superior Björling really was is in fact "O, sole mio".
This "popular" tune is something you imagine ordinary people singing in the narrow side streets of Naples on a sunny day after the day's first glass of wine, but to sing it like Björling did requires ability that some would say even Caruso weren't in possession of.

Concerning Sweden as a tourist destination;

- Both Stockholm and Gotland are very appealing places, to say the least. I'm not surprised a so many foreigners visit them.

However, I would say Skåne/Scania, the southernmost part of Sweden, especially the south eastern part called Österlen, is even more magnificent.

http://www.skane.com/cmarter/cmarter.asp?doc=1367

(I wish there was a site that really did justice to this part of Europe, but this one is the best I could find).

Österlen can compete with Provence (France) and Tuscany (Italy) in areas like:

- Beauty of the countryside
- Gourmet food
- Palaces and castles
- Art galleries and art activities (perhaps not art MUSEUMS though)
- Relaxing, rural lifestyle and overall "tempo"

If you ever get the chance in life, try cruising around on the small, winding rural roads in a nice car (preferably a DRIVERS car like BMW, SAAB or Porsche) of Österlen and explore the aspects mentioned above.
In my opinion, it even beats Stockholm and Gotland.

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