Persson concedes defeat

Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson conceded defeat in parliamentary elections today.

He said his government would resign.

Persson, who had led a Social Democratic government for 10 years, said he would also step down as party leader in March.

“We have lost the election, but we are not a defeated party,” he said.

With 99% of districts counted, the four-party opposition alliance led by Fredrik Reinfeldt had 48% of the votes, compared to 46.2% for the Social Democrats and their two supporting parties.

“It was team work that helped us win,” Mr Reinfeldt said in a victory speech to jubilant supporters in downtown Stockholm.

Persson said Sweden’s social model – a market economy blended with a high-tax welfare state – was at stake in the election. But the opposition led by Reinfeldt’s Moderate Party insisted it would not dismantle the system but help it survive by promoting jobs over welfare handouts.

The results showed Reinfeldt’s Moderate Party with 26%, a strong gain from 2002 when it won only 15% of the vote.

After taking over the party leadership in 2003, Reinfeldt, 41, has steered the party toward the centre by toning down its conservative polices.