Sweden bucks right-wing trend

Persson is hoping for rain and looking for votes

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- In politics, as in life, what goes up usually comes down and what swings one way usually swings back the other.

After years of political opinion moving to the left, right-wing parties across Europe have lately seen things moving back their way, triumphing in France, Portugal, Italy and Austria.

Sweden, where voters are the most highly taxed in Europe, might have been seen as a certainty to go the same way when polling booths open on Sunday.

But there, the centre-left social democrats led by Prime Minister Goran Persson have led in opinion polls virtually all year.

And he says now is not the time for tax cuts.

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Persson said: "We at the same time have discussion all over Europe about the low quality in the education system. We need to improve it.

"At the same time we have huge problems in the welfare and the hospital sector. We need to improve that as well. And if we want to improve it and give room for everyone we need to have high taxes."

But Kristina Axen-Olin, conservative leader of Stockholm City Council denies that: "The thing that we have shown here in the City Hall, here in Stockholm is that it is possible to do both.

"Here we have cut taxes and we have also raised the money for schools, elderly and the disabled."

Alf Svensson, the leader of one of Sweden's Christian Democrat party wryly acknowledges the strength of the high tax, high-welfare tradition.

He said: "The Swedes have had a Social Democrat government for decades and there is in my opinion a small social democrat in every person's neck."

Sweden's political parties are all trying their best to massage the voters in their different ways, the Greens doing so literally at some of their meetings.

After a glorious dry summer Swedes have taken to talking about the weather as much as the British do.

But they have been enjoying the sunshine so much they have scarcely noticed the election.

For parties like the SDP, reliant on a high turnout, that could be bad news.

Persson said: "If I'm going to be re-elected I need some rain and lower temperatures.

"Now every Swede including myself doesn't want to think of the election campaign. We want to go to the lakes, we want to take it easy, bathe and drink something cool."

It's been a low key election campaign in a stable and prosperous country.

In a contest closer than it looked a month ago the Social Democrats remain favourites to come out on top again.

And if they do they will buck the trend of Europe's general swing to the right.