Stockholm, Sept 15: Swedes voted not to adopt the Euro in a referendum on Sunday, dealing a major blow to Prime Minister Goeran Persson, the leading campaigner for Swedish membership of the European single currency. "I can now state that the result is clear, very clear," a grim-faced Persson said on public television after an exit poll and a partial count of the vote pointed to a clear victory for opponents of Swedish Euro membership.
The result is expected to have major repercussions elsewhere in Europe.
With 81 per cent of ballot papers counted, the "no" camp was credited with 56.2 per cent of votes, against 41.7 for the "yes" camp, according to the election authorities. "The result reflected a deep scepticism towards the EMU project," Persson said, referring to the road to Economic and Monetary Union within the European Union.
But the Prime Minister, speaking at the headquarters of the pro-Euro social democratic party, said he would not resign following the defeat.
In yesterday's referendum, Swedes were asked to decide whether they wanted to swap the Krona for the Euro, which is used in 12 of the 15 EU countries. Bureau Report