Nordic Countries Office Stockholm Västmannagatan 4 11124 Stockholm Tel. 004684546592 Fax: 004684546595 email: info@fesnord.se Background: Mona Sahlin- Swedish Social Democrats Elect a Woman Leader 2- 2007 By Roger Hällhag and Uwe Optenhögel ∗ Elected undisputed on 17 March 2007, Mona Sahlin has become the first woman leader of the Swedish social democratic party(SAP) since its foundation in 1889. She takes over a party with a long tradition and one of the most successful parties in Europe She also is the first leader for a century to be appointed while the party is in opposition. All previous leaders(Branting, Hansson, Erlander, Palme, Carlsson, Persson) have been Prime Ministers- not exactly an easy heritage for Mrs. Sahlin. The state of affairs after the election defeat in September 2006 Mona Sahlin was selected after a search for a candidate inspiring sympathy for her personality, confidence in her competence and an open, consultative leadership style. The long half-year interregnum since Persson announced his plan to resign on election night has only seen half-hearted policy discussions. Neither Mona Sahlin nor any other‘prospect’ for the leadership was required or even asked by the party to present any policy ideas or priorities. Such a peculiar situation is based on: (1). Social democracy does not see itself as defeated ideologically or over policies. Instead the centre-right Alliance could only win a majority by promising to retain the fundamentals of the social democratic Swedish Model of publicly financed welfare, as well as job security for most people. The|New Moderates| could only win the election through a decisive move to the centre ground and PM Fredrik Reinfeldt proudly recognises this. (2). The electoral defeat is largely attributed to the personality of Göran Persson, not his policies. A domineering style, loosing his popular touch and looking tired, made many enough opt for the fresh and young political alternative. Therefore many believe that a new face and a wrapping is enough to restore social democratic power. Most in the party leadership and Persson himself have in practice stuck to such limited interpretations of the defeat, playing down the need to review policies in an open debate. Nor did Persson loosen his grip on the party apparatus. Some ∗ Roger Hällhag is a political analyst and consultant with background in international affairs and social democracy. Dr. Uwe Optenhögel is director of the Stockholm office of the FES for the Nordic Countries. 1