Swedish foreign minister stabbed

Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, one of the country’s most admired politicians, was stabbed in the stomach today, as she shopped at an exclusive Stockholm department store.

“There is nothing pointing at a political motive right now,” said police spokesman Bjoern Pihlblad.

The 46-year-old mother of two was inside the Nordiska Kompaniet department store near the parliament building when she was stabbed by a man, eyewitnesses said.

Hanna Sundberg, who was shopping at the store, said she saw the stabbing.

“She came flying into the Filippa K shop at NK. She laid on the floor and it looked as if a tall man, wearing a peaked cap, was hitting her,” she said.

“But when he ran away, he threw away a knife.”

Sundberg said Lindh told her: “God, he has stabbed me in the stomach!”

Then, Sundberg said she saw blood.

Lindh was rushed out of the store on a stretcher by three paramedics, with police surrounding the widely admired minister.

Lindh, a member of the Social Democrats, has been head of the Foreign Ministry since 1998.

Sweden holds a referendum on adopting the euro on Sunday and Lindh has been a fervent campaigner for a yes vote. A majority of Swedes are against the euro, according to polls.

Sweden, a nation of nine million, has witnessed political assassination in the past.

Prime Minister Olof Palme was killed in 1986 as he walked home from a cinema with his wife. That killing has never been solved.

Politicians in Sweden are often seen walking along the street or riding in the underground without police protection.

Police said they were searching for a man wearing a camouflage jacket who fled the store.

Spokesman Pihlblad said Lindh was slashed on her arm, but did not know if she was also stabbed in the stomach.