Rally Decries Slaying Of Swedish Official

By Karin Lundback, Reuters, 9/13/2003

STOCKHOLM -- Tens of thousands of Swedes rallied yesterday in outrage over the murder of Anna Lindh although markets bet on a "No" result in the euro referendum scheduled tomorrow despite sympathy for the pro-euro foreign minister.

Investigators have circulated pictures of a man who fits the description of Lindh's attacker to Stockholm's police force. The images were taken from a surveillance camera in the city's NK department store where she was stabbed Wednesday.

"We are interested in contacting this man," police spokeswoman Tina Gustafsson said.

Gustafsson said police did not want to give the pictures to the media yet because those photos might influence witnesses being interviewed by police.

Up to 50,000 people, many carrying red roses, staged Sweden's biggest political demonstration since the Vietnam War a few blocks from where Lindh was stabbed and close to where Prime Minister Olof Palme was gunned down in 1986. Palme's assassination is still unsolved.

"We lost her, but our anger over the loss must not paralyze us," Prime Minister Goran Persson said, urging the crowd to turn out to vote tomorrow on the referendum that will determine whether to ditch the krona for the euro.

Lindh, the 46-year-old mother of two and one of Sweden's most popular politicians who was tipped as a successor to Persson, led the "Yes" campaign with him on joining the European Union's single currency. However, most polls point to a "No" result. Politicians have suspended the campaign.

In an apparent surge of sympathy, a Skop Institute poll showed the pro- and anti-euro camps in a 50-50 tie. The poll surveyed 792 voters after Lindh died.

But the Swedish crown slipped from three-month highs when investors placed more trust in a Sifo survey, also taken after Lindh's death, showing the "No" campaign had widened its lead to 50-to-38 percent from 49 to 39. The sample was just over 1,000.

A Gallup opinion poll for the daily Expressen had 91 percent of the 1,003 surveyed saying their decision on the euro would be unaffected by grief over Lindh's murder. Five percent said they may be swayed while others were undecided.

Specialists said the killer's identity might sway voters to a "Yes" if the murder was politically motivated. The "Yes" side has trailed in all polls since April despite its high-profile campaign backed by mainstream politicians and big business.

Lindh will be buried Friday at a private funeral.