SWEDEN'S NEW PRIME MINISTER, FREDRIK REINFELDT

C O N F I D E N T I A L STOCKHOLM 001646

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/03/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR SW
SUBJECT: SWEDEN'S NEW PRIME MINISTER, FREDRIK REINFELDT

REF: A. STOCKHOLM 952

B. STOCKHOLM 1501

Classified By: Polcouns Casey Christensen, reason 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (u) Fredrik Reinfeldt became Sweden,s Prime Minister
October 6, following the victory of a four-party center-right
coalition in September parliamentary elections. Reinfeldt,s
Moderate party led the coalition; the Moderate party alone
won over 26 percent of the total vote. Reinfeldt became the
leader of the Moderates in October 2003; under his tenure,
the party climbed steadily in the polls. In September 2006
the Moderate party achieved its best result in any election
since 1928.


2. (u) Reinfeldt, 41, is a career politician. He comes from
a middle-class background and worked part-time during
high-school and college, but has not held a regular job
outside of politics. He joined the Moderate Party's Youth
League when he was 18 years old. He was an Arctic Ranger
during his national military service, and graduated as the
number one cadet at the Umea military cadet school. While at
Stockholm University, from 1984 to 1989 he led the
"Non-socialist Opposition '68" party. He graduated from
Stockholm University with a B.S. degree in Economics in 1990.



3. (u) He was elected to Parliament in 1991, when he was 26
years old, and became leader of the Moderate Youth League in

1992. Following the defeat of the Moderate-led coalition
govenment in 1994, Reinfeldt openly criticized Moderate Party
leader and outgoing Prime Minister Carl Bildt. This led to a
rebuke from Bildt and a period of being left out in the cold
by party leadership. Reinfeldt was accepted back, however,
and was chosen to chair Parliament,s Justice Committee in

2001. He was elected Moderate Party leader in 2003, in the
wake of the party,s poor showing in the 2002 parliamentary
elections. Reinfeldt's selection of Bildt to be his Foreign
Minister was taken as a sign that the rift between them is
now completely in the past.


4. (u) Reinfeldt grew up in a series of middle-class
neighborhoods around Stockholm. He has two younger brothers.
Reinfeldt is married to Filippa Reinfeldt, who sits on the
city council in Taby, the modestly upscale suburb of
Stockholm where they have their home. They are the parents
of two boys, Gustav 13, and Erik, 11, and a daughter, Ebba, 6.


5. (c) Reinfeldt is very organized and self-controlled. He
is known for keeping his composure under pressure. He is
said to drink very little alcohol. He speaks excellent
English. He has visited the United States on several
occasions, including as an observer of each of the past three
U.S. presidential elections. He has attended the Democratic
Party's national convention as an observer.


6. (c) During the Ambassador's call on him in June (ref A),
Reinfeldt discussed his views on the relationship of religion
to politics (in Sweden, he said, they do not mix),and his
intent to resist the efforts of "new liberals" to tear down
the welfare state. He campaigned on the promise to improve
rather than replace the welfare state, by giving better value
for the money and better results. In his declaration of
policy for the new government (ref B),he described
initiatives to reduce various government payments to people
of working age who do not work, and provide incentives for
job creation.
WOOD