Free Republic

Sweden’s Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern in Berlin last night to discuss how to resurrect a new constitution for the European Union. Reinfeldt expressed his support for the Germans’ efforts to come up with a draft that all 27 EU countries can accept, after voters in the Netherlands and France rejected the proposed constitution in 2005. After the meeting he said Sweden’s views were heard, and the meeting was part of efforts to get Sweden to play a more constructive role in EU affairs. Germany has held the rotating...

Carl Bildt Sweden's new Foreign Minister Former prime minister Carl Bildt has been named as the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the new government presented by Fredrik Reinfeld on Friday. Ten of the 21 new ministers are women, and nine ministers are Moderates. 57 year old Carl Bildt was prime minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994 and was the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for the Balkans between 1999 and 2001. He has been on the board of Vostok Nafta since 2002 and is also on the board of Lundin Petroleum AB, a part of the Lundin Group of...

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Centre-right opposition leader Fredrik Reinfeldt, who has pledged to cut taxes and trim the welfare state, formally became Sweden's new prime minister on Thursday after winning a vote in parliament.Reinfeldt got 175 votes in his favor and 169 against in the 349-seat parliament, had been expected after he led a four-party alliance to victory in a September 17 election.Reinfeldt, who leads the Moderate Party, will on Friday formally lay out his government's plans for the next four years and present his cabinet. He will launch a budget on October 16. The coalition includes the Folk Liberal...