Sweden was gripped by shock and sadness yesterday after the death of Ms Anna Lindh, the Foreign Minister, but the government said it would press ahead with Sunday's referendum on the euro. Derek Scally reports from Stockholm
Ms Lindh, aged 46 and the mother of two children, died in hospital yesterday just hours after an unidentified man stabbed her repeatedly in a Stockholm department store.
"Her family have lost a mother and a wife. Social Democracy has lost one of its most gifted politicians . . . Sweden has lost its face towards the world," the Prime Minister, Mr Göran Persson, said.
Ms Lindh was wounded in the stomach, chest and arm at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. Rushed to hospital, she underwent 10 hours of surgery but died at 5.30 a.m. yesterday from internal bleeding and stomach and liver injuries.
Swedish police have begun a hunt for her attacker, who remains at large after fleeing the NK department store in central Stockholm.
Hundreds of people came yesterday to lay flowers there and by evening the entrance was a sea of red roses and candles. The crowd stayed until after dark, people crying and talking about the tragedy that has brought back buried memories of the still-unsolved assassination of the former prime minister, Mr Olof Palme, in 1986.
"She was the best we had in the government, but she was a mother of two boys, that's the real tragedy and all I can think about," one woman said.
Sweden faces a period of soul-searching about its open way of life where even government ministers dispense with bodyguards in public. A government spokesman said security measures were being reviewed.
It is less clear, however, whether Ms Lindh's death will boost the lagging "yes" campaign in Sunday's referendum on the euro. An opinion poll published yesterday, but conducted before the attack, showed Swedes in favour of the euro gaining slightly, though opponents of the single currency retained a lead of 15 percentage points.
Ms Lindh criss-crossed the country in recent weeks as the best-known face of the pro-euro campaign. The government said the referendum would go ahead, but thousands of posters featuring Ms Lindh would be removed where possible.
National flags were flown at half-mast and the Swedish parliament observed a minute's silence. A memorial service was organised last night in Stockholm's main cathedral. Swedish police said they still had no motive for the attack but were studying security video-tapes and following concrete leads. "The attacker knew what he was doing, he didn't wield his knife in a sudden crazed attack," a spokesman said.
Police and security forces were criticised yesterday for failing to protect Ms Lindh ahead of the referendum and for not stopping the underground train system immediately after the attack.