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REINFELDT

Reinfeldt: I will not meet Sweden Democrats

Fredrik Reinfeldt has said he will not debate with Jimmie Åkesson, leader of the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats.

Speaking after the Moderate Party’s spring conference in Gothenburg, Sweden’s prime minister said he would not follow the lead of Mona Sahlin, leader of the Social Democrats, who took part in a televised debate with Åkesson earlier this week.

“He should not be given one millimetre more publicity, rather we should focus on doing something about the problems in society which his party is profiting from – based on a peverted view on the causes of those problems,” he told reporters.

Reinfeldt was also asked for his views about the demands for the resignation of Liberal Party leader Lars Leijonborg, education minister in Reinfeldt’s cabinet. Reinfeldt insisted that the turbulence surrounding Leijonborg did not have an impact on the work of the Alliance government.

“If you’re at this level of politics, you do get criticized. You just have to learn to live with the fact that you get very harshly criticized when you have a lot of power. Some of it is reasonable, some of it is exaggerated,” he said.

Much of Reinfeldt’s speech at the conference was focused on the government’s plans to reduce unemployment.