But many leading Swedish Social Democrats are still loth to be railroaded.

ECONOMIST: Scandinavia and the euro

These two factors go far towards explaining why Swedish voters turned against the Social Democrats, for whom this was the worst electoral result since 1914.

ECONOMIST: Sweden's election

The anti-nuclear gambit, it seems, has merely speeded a slide in the Social Democrats' and Mr Persson's popularity, now the lowest recorded for a Swedish prime minister.

ECONOMIST: Sweden