From the Associated Press:
Prime Minister Goran Persson was handing in his resignation Monday following the defeat of his Social Democrats in weekend elections, ending a 12-year era that showed the world that Sweden’s fabled social model could be an engine of dazzling economic growth. The victorious center-right alliance is promising only to tinker with the welfare state ? but some believe their baby-steps toward lower taxes and more flexible labor rules could herald a deeper shift toward market liberalization.
It appears that one of the ways the Moderate Party (which is essentially the free-market conservative party) has made inroads is by explaining that their economic agenda would create employment opportunities, in a country where job creation has been moribund. Thus they were seen as a champion for workers against the stultifying bureaucracy of the Social Democrats.
In fits and starts, and with admittedly modest benefits to date, right-leaning parties are nevertheless making gains in Europe. Don?t tell the American Left ? it may cause their heads to explode.
