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M. Continuo

Factbox - Sweden's Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt


    STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Fredrik Reinfeldt seems sure to have won re-election as Swedish prime minister in Sunday's election.

    While his four-party Alliance did not win a parliamentary majority, it is the biggest bloc and Reinfeldt has said he was prepared to lead a minority government. However, he said he would approach the opposition Green Party for support.

    Key Facts:

    -- Reinfeldt swept to power in 2006 on a promise to fine tune, not destroy, the Swedish welfare state by cutting taxes and providing more incentives for people to return to work. His four-party coalition is made up of the Moderate Party, the Liberal Party, the Christian Democrats and the Centre Party.

    -- His alliance broke 12 years of rule by the Social Democrats and has during its four years in power cut income tax and abolished a wealth tax which the Social Democrat-led opposition wanted to revive.

    -- Reinfeldt, whose personal popularity far exceeds that of his opponent -- Social Democrat leader Mona Sahlin, came to power as one of the country's youngest prime ministers and stepped up his presence on the international stage during Sweden's six-month European Union presidency.

    -- He is a family man who is known for his calm, controlled approach to leadership which observers say sets him apart from some of his predecessors.

    -- Analysts had said re-election for the centre-right government would show Swedes were prepared to inch further away from the traditional "Swedish Model" of a cradle-to-grave welfare state to one with a heavier dose of capitalism.

    -- Reinfeldt has long wanted to make it more profitable for lower and middle-income earners to work and reduce unemployment benefits to boost incentives to take work.

    -- However, even though the Moderate-led government has cut taxes and trimmed the welfare state to try and boost jobs, the jobless rate stands at 7.4 percent -- higher than when Reinfeldt came to power. The opposition says that his policies simply punish the sick and unemployed and benefit the rich.

    -- Reinfeldt has said he wants Sweden more involved in the EU, but the country's main political parties have all but ruled out a new referendum on the euro currency during the next four years. Swedes rejected adopting the common currency in 2003.

    -- Reinfeldt's alliance wants to sell 100 billion Swedish crowns (9.0 billion pounds) of state-owned shares over four years. That is likely to include stakes in Nordea, the region's biggest bank, telecoms firm TeliaSonera and airline SAS.