Sweden: No new poll 'till 2010' if euro shunned

Source: Financial Times

Swedes will not be able to join the euro until 2013 at the earliest if they reject the single currency in a referendum in two weeks, the prime minister warned yesterday.

Goran Persson said a No vote would apply for two parliamentary terms, meaning a new referendum would not be held until after Sweden's 2010 general election. Three years would then be needed to prepare for entry.

"If we wait until 2013 we risk Sweden joining the euro project after all the other countries who want to join. A No today would place us last in the queue. The building of Europe's future would continue - without Sweden playing an important role," Mr Persson, the Social Democratic party leader, stated.

With the Yes camp still trailing heavily in the polls, the comments mark his latest attempt to convince No voters, who believe Sweden can wait and see before committing itself to the single currency, that there will be no early re-run of the September 14 vote. They were contained in a Dagens Nyheter newspaper article co-written by Lars Leijonborg, leader of the opposition Liberal party, which is also backing Swedish euro membership. But No campaigners attacked the remarks, saying that there was no particular reason why Swedes would have to wait so long to vote again.

"If something unexpected happens, we could take a new decision much earlier," said Soren Wibe, leader of the Social Democratic party's No campaign. One of the No camp's strongest campaign themes has been that a Yes vote is irrevocable, whereas a No can be revisited.

In separate weekend comments, Mr Persson said it had been a mistake to put the euro decision to a referendum at all - and he blamed Carl Bildt, a former prime minister and leader of the opposition party, for the move. Mr Persson said he had wanted parliament to decide, but Mr Bildt had raised the idea of a referendum in 1997.

Mr Bildt, who is also campaigning for a Yes, said Mr Persson's comments were "unfortunate" and a distraction from the main campaign issues.

No campaigners say Mr Persson is becoming increasingly desperate in his attempts to turn opinion round.

The two most recent polls give the No campaign a 14 percentage point and an 8 percentage point lead respectively.

On Friday Mr Persson said Sweden could delay joining the euro beyond its January 2006 target, even if Swedes voted in favour of the single currency in two weeks. This was because of the divisions over the eurozone's stability and growth pact and because he wanted to be sure that Sweden joined at a favourable exchange rate.

Mr Wibe said: "Mr Persson is contradicting himself. On Friday he was saying Swedes should wait and see. Today, he is saying there is no wait and see."

Mr Wibe said he was now "80 per cent" confident that the No side would win, but warned that an unexpected economic or political development, or a scandal, could still change things. Yes campaigners continue to pin their hopes on the large number of undecided voters and they believe euro supporters are more likely to vote on the day.