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Swedes' support for Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt remains strong, according to a new poll. 47 percent of voters asked for a new poll say that Reinfeldt is the best person to lead the country. Only 34 percent supported Social Democrat leader Mona Sahlin. The poll was commissioned from Sifo by PR agency Westander. Pollsters interviewed 1,000 voters. "Fifteen percent of those who say that they vote for the left-wing parties have greater faith in Reinfeldt, while 7 percent of right-wing voters have greater faith in Sahlin," Westander wrote in a statement on Monday. Reinfeldt's personal popularity contrasts with support for...

Sweden will abolish its wealth tax this year to boost investments and create jobs, Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said Wednesday, the latest in a slew of reforms announced since his centre-right government ousted the Social Democrats from power six months ago. The move was broadly welcomed in political and business circles. "We will propose to abolish wealth tax as of 2007 in our spring budget bill," Reinfeldt, the leader of the conservative Moderate Party, wrote in an article published in daily Dagens Nyheter. The article was co-signed by the heads of the three other government coalition partners, Maud Olofsson of...

If a country like Sweden, infamous for its PC socialist policies can embrace a person like (rather) newly elected (in Sept 2006) PM Mr Reinfeldt, PC Socialism might actually someday come to an end. Even in Europe. It is intrinsic human nature to desire liberty and freedom. The article: "Reinfeldt crushes Sahlin in popularity stakes Published: 17th March 2007 10:53 CET Online: http://www.thelocal.se/6718/ Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has higher approval ratings than the Social Democrats' new leader, Mona Sahlin, who is due to be confirmed to the post on Saturday. In a poll by the Skop Institute, voters were asked...

Liberals vow to tackle immigrant ID muddle The Liberal Party has said it plans to propose a motion to the Riksdag, Sweden's parliament, on Friday, after The Local revealed that most immigrants have effectively been barred from receiving Swedish ID cards. The party will suggest that a state agency gets the right to issue ID cards to new arrivals in Sweden. Stricter regulations put in place in January by Svensk Kassaservice lock out unmarried immigrants from seeking a Swedish ID. The banks, the only alternative for a valid ID have similar policies. Fredrik Malm, MP and Spokesperson for migration issues...

I've said it before and I feel it ought to be said again and again: - Don't let anyone tell you Sweden is a Socialist paradise and an example of how socialism can be "successful". We've been moving towards Conservatism and Capitalism since the mid 1980's. Still much left to do, though. In any case, I feel optimistic. To begin with, we have a Conservative government that, obviously, know what it is doing. By the way, it ought to be noticed that many other parts of Europe are beginning to wake up out of their socialist slumber as well. Not...

High capacity utilisation in industry Capacity utilisation in industry is 89 per cent, the highest level measured during the 10-year period that this question has been included in the Business Tendency Survey. While a shortage of capacity is increasingly the main obstacle to industrial firms´ operations, the labour shortage is the main obstacle in the construction sector. The wholesale and retail trade continues reporting strong sales figures. One in three firms in the private service sector plan to increase staffing. On the way up: Private service sectors Construction paper Sawmilling and planing of wood food basic metals On the way...

Borg: No euro membership for Sweden Sweden's new finance minister Anders Borg has said that Sweden will not join the euro in the foreseeable future. Borg made set out his position on the single European currency as he attended his first meeting of EU finance ministers in Luxembourg. "I will say that we are prioritizing employment and making it profitable to work," Borg told journalists on his way into the meeting. Borg said he would also tell his European counterparts that the new Swedish government will concentrate on keeping the state finances in good order. Sweden rejected adopting the euro...

Bildt: North Korea nuclear test 'extremely serious' Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt has described North Korean claims that it has carried out an underground nuclear weapons test as "an extremely serious development." The test would have consequences both for stability in East Asia and for international efforts to stem the proliferation of nuclear weapons, Bildt said in a statement on Monday morning. "While it has been assumed for a long time that North Korea has a few nuclear charges, a test of this kind is a conscious and serious provocation directed at the entire international community," he said, adding that...

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...

Brisk reforms expected from Reinfeldt 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...

The Alliance election victory may lead Sweden into a period of improved relations with Israel. According to the Jerusalem Post: "Nobody will admit it formally, but a few government officials in Jerusalem are dancing a jig over the defeat Sunday of Sweden's Social Democratic government." Inge-Britt Lundin, a Liberal Party politician who was chairman of the Sweden-Israel Friendship Association for twenty years, is equally pleased: "There are a lot of strong personalities in the Alliance, particularly in the Liberal and Moderate parties, who look favourably on Israel. Fredrik Federley from the Centre Party is also very positive, as are quite...

Swedish centre-right alliance wins wafer-thin election victory Sweden's centre-right opposition secured a narrow victory in yesterday's general election, ending 12 years of rule by the Social Democrats, who have governed for 65 of the last 74 years. Fredrik Reinfeldt, the next prime minister, declared victory shortly before 11pm after a nail-biting finish which gave his four-party Alliance for Sweden a wafer-thin parliamentary majority. His group was on course to win 178 seats in the 349-seat parliament - seven ahead of the Social Democrats and its allies on the left. With 99.7% of Sweden's districts counted, Mr Reinfeldt's alliance led with...

Alliance wins - Persson concedes Fredrik Reinfeldt is to be Sweden's new prime minister. He has declared victory, Göran Persson has said he will resign as prime minister and as leader of the Social Democrats. Reinfeldt claimed victory in his first adress to the crowds gathered at the Moderates' election party. Arriving on stage at 10.50 to a rousing first-name chorus, chants and flag-waving. It was an emphatic speech where he did all but declare himself as Sweden's new Prime Minister. "The Swedish people have voted," he began. "We have won as the new Moderates; we dared to challenge ourselves,...

Exit poll: Alliance on the path to victory Exit polls released by Swedish TV companies predict that the centre-right Alliance is on its way to power, ending Göran Persson's 12-year period as prime minister SVT's poll gave the Alliance the bigger lead, with 49.7 percent against 45.6 percent for the Social Democrats' and allies. TV4's poll showed the Social Democrats and allies slightly closer behind the Alliance, with figures at 48.6 against 46.7 percent. "This sounds fantastic, and it's a result of a strong campaign which we are proud of. The way things look, it could well be that the...