Swedish conservatives look set to take power

[English Glory]

STOCKHOLM, Sept. 17 — Sweden appeared set to sweep away 12 years of center-left government today, voting to reject its longtime prime minister, Goran Persson, in favor of a conservative candidate who has pledged to renew the Swedish welfare state.

 

With 5,327 out of 5,783 precincts counted at 10:23 p.m. Swedish time, a little more than two hours after the polls closed, the Social Democrats and their left-of-center allies had taken 46.6 percent of the vote, compared with 47.7 percent for a right-of-center coalition led by Fredrik Reinfeldt, the leader of the Moderate Party.

 

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Hot on the heels of Germany ridding itself of years of misery with the left to move centre-right, righteous Euro-sceptic Sweden looks to have have gone the right way to secure their future.

 

Spain only moving to the left because of cultural cowardice and giving victory to horrific terrorists.

[English Glory]

Breaking news.... it's almost certain now.

 

Fredrik Reinfeldt, the youthful right-wing leader who has been likened to David Cameron for the way he dropped traditional policies to modernise his party, held a small lead over Göran Persson’s Social Democrats as counting continued into the night.

 

Mr Persson, Europe’s second-longest serving Prime Minister, struggled to throw off the image of a tired administration with little new to offer Sweden apart from more of its famous high taxes. In contrast, Mr Reinfeldt, 41, promised to reform rather than overhaul the welfare state, with modest cuts to benefits to tackle the sickness payments that account for 16 per cent of public spending.

 

His attack on Sweden’s hidden unemployment among the long-term ill, the early retired and those on pointless government schemes struck a chord with younger Swedes struggling to find work despite the headline jobless figure of just 4.5 per cent.

[littlebasher]

As im unfamiliar with your posts, which way will you vote at the next election?

[English Glory]

To play along....for the mainstream green party Well, on the surface anyway but look forward to meaty centre-right policy also. After all, there's no need for a manifesto for a long time.

[English Glory]

Has to be said the parallels with the situation in the UK is almost identical. Only the Tories have a much higher lead in the polls.

 

Problem is a Gordon Brown led Labour party in the next GE is on the subjects that rightly riled the Swedes but Brown is fully responsbile for, not Blair.

 

Tonight is a good night for people proud of Britain and come the election it will be a goodnight from him for Brown, as he's fully responsible to the point of promising to fix what the Swede never did, but he hasn't and never will.

[redrobbo]

Tonight is a good night for people proud of Britain and come the election it will be a goodnight from him for Brown, as he's fully responsible to the point of promising to fix what the Swede never did, but he hasn't and never will.

 

 

Yet again - can anyone provide a translation of what English Glory is going on about?

 

These ramblings are an utter mystery to me.

[English Glory]

An utter mystery?

 

No doubt it is. It's quite clear what i'm "rambling" about.

[redrobbo]

An utter mystery?

 

No doubt it is. It's quite clear what i'm "rambling" about.

 

... and that's the problem! There is ONLY you who knows what you are rambling on about!

 

Let's see what sense can be made of your post.....

 

Tonight is a good night for people proud of Britain and come the election it will be a goodnight from him for Brown, as he's fully responsible to the point of promising to fix what the Swede never did, but he hasn't and never will.

 

1. The results of the Swedish election tonight is a "good night" for the Swedes who are proud of Britain.

2. Come the British general election it will be a "goodnight from him" (the new Swedish prime minister?) for Gordon Brown.

3. The new Swedish Prime Minister is fully responsible (to the point) of ....., no wait, maybe that is Gordon Brown is fully responsible (to the point) of promising to fix what the Swede (the new Swedish Prime Minister?) never did.

4. Only Gordon Brown (or the new Swedish Prime Minister) hasn't fixed what the other one of the two of them never did fix, and never will fix it.

 

There! How did I do?

[troyhark]

The Swedish opposition party has indeed done what the UK Conservatives have done and grabbed every policy they think will win them some votes and to hell with ideology. Seems to have worked! Another triumph of style over substance methinks.

Shame really.

Hardly a rout, though! More like a limp past the post.

[Phanerothyme]

The Swedish opposition party has indeed done what the UK Conservatives have done and grabbed every policy they think will win them some votes and to hell with ideology. Seems to have worked! Another triumph of style over substance methinks.

Shame really.

Hardly a rout, though! More like a limp past the post.

 

 

The swedish moderates are so much like new labour it isn't true. They are even calling themselves the "new moderates".

 

And don't forget, the only way they can govern is through coalition. And when they last did that, there were demonstrations in the streets as parental leave was cut in half, down to only 12 months on full pay. No doubt there will be similar austerity measures as they cut their social welfare projects down to a scale that would still seem unimagineably generous in this country.

 

The thing is that most Swedes do not resent paying taxes to fund the welfare state. Even the "new moderates".

 

Even the mainstream Swedish right are well to the left of new labour. This is a victory for the moderate left over the staunchly socialist left.