The Swedish government is both correct and courageous in deciding to go ahead with Sunday's referendum on the euro despite the death yesterday of the foreign minister, Anna Lindh, from injuries received in a horrific attack.
While the government may, if opinion poll indications hold true, lose the vote and see the people reject Sweden signing up to the single currency, there is no telling at this stage what effect Ms Lindh's murder may have on the outcome. But to state so firmly and so resolutely, as the prime minister, Mr Gören Persson, did yesterday, that democracy would not be interrupted by the killing of a single politician, no matter how shocking, was the correct course of action.
Ms Lindh was the very model of the modern Swedish politician - a woman member of the most gender balanced parliament in the world which is near 50/50 male/female, and one of nine female ministers in a cabinet of 22. But she was also, as many of her friends and colleagues across Europe noted yesterday, a devoted wife and mother, who would calmly set aside affairs of state to deal with a domestic imperative. Among the Swedish public and across Sweden's political divide, she was widely recognised as the country's most popular politician. In a polity famed for its devotion to consensus, Ms Lindh was a master craftswoman. Her skill was summed up yesterday by Björn von Sydow, speaker of the Riksdag, Sweden's parliament. "Anna Lindh owed her success to a blend of important qualities: she had a keen mind and an easy-going manner, a cheerful work ethic and a profound sense of responsibility. Her charm was the expression of deeply felt personal values... She was able to listen and appreciate other people's viewpoints, but was also able to train a searchlight on confusion and lack of clarity. In this way she reduced the confrontational character of debates in the Riksdag, at the same time as she clarified Sweden's position in a way that many were able to identify with."
The loss of such a talent will be felt deeply in Sweden, the manner of her passing making it all the more poignant. As is their character, ordinary Swedes have reacted with profound sorrow and dismay that such violence should visit their capital, in, of all places, the banal setting of a city-centre department store. People expressed their feelings with flowers, candles and through books of condolences. Different feelings may develop in the coming days. There will be a serious re-examination of the practice of allowing prominent political figures move in public unprotected. It will strike many as naïve that Swedish society continued in this way, despite the murder of Olof Palme 17 years ago. It is to be hoped that the police force applies itself to the Lindh investigation with more professionalism than it showed in the Palme case. As regards the referendum, Ms Lindh certainly wanted a resounding "yes" vote. While her death could stimulate a higher turnout, opinion may not be altered greatly by this tragic outrage.