Sweden's Persson confident of euro 'yes' vote

Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson said yesterday he was confident his country would vote "yes" to the euro in an imminent referendum and signalled that he was close to gaining the backing of a powerful union.

Mr Persson denied that the "no" camp was winning the debate on the European single currency ahead of the September 14 referendum, despite recent opinion polls that show opponents of the euro clearly outnumbering supporters.

"The campaign has not really begun," Mr Persson told Reuters on the sidelines of a meeting of left-leaning leaders in London.

"We are in the summer months, many people are on holiday," he said, adding that he was not perturbed by recent poll numbers.

In what could prove a significant boost to the "yes" campaign, Mr Persson said he expected to bring Sweden's powerful trade union federation LO over to his camp by next month. The LO, with two million members in a country where seven million people are eligible to vote on joining the euro zone, is traditionally a major ally of Mr Persson's Social Democratic party.

Until now, it has been officially neutral on the euro since the government would not agree to set aside special funds to protect jobs.

Mr Persson and LO Chairman Wanja Lundby-Wedin, writing in the Dagens Nyheter yesterday, said they aimed to present a common programme to protect jobs and the welfare state if Sweden were to scrap the crown.

Mr Persson signalled that such a breakthrough was imminent. "We are making a lot of progress. We are hoping for an agreement on this in the next three weeks," he said of his talks with LO.

The latest survey by Skop agency on Friday showed 53 per cent of Swedes against the euro, versus 38 per cent in favour.

Mr Persson, who shared a platform with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at a conference in London on progressive governance, said a "yes" vote on the euro in Sweden could help turn around hostile public opinion to the single currency in Britain.

But a "no" vote would be a setback for the pro-euro camp, he added.

"A 'yes' vote would affect Britain...but not as much as a 'no' vote. I think that would have a very big impact on British opinion," he said.

The British government said in June that economic conditions had not yet been met to swap the pound for the euro but suggested that a referendum could still be held as soon as 2004 if progress was made on meeting those conditions.

Barclay Capital's monthly Eurotrack survey in June put British opposition to the euro at a record high, with 52 per cent saying they would vote against the euro even if the government recommended it, versus 35 per cent who would vote in favour.