Sweden: The Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ms Anna Lindh, was stabbed in the chest, stomach and arm yesterday while shopping in a department store in central Stockholm. She underwent surgery last night. Her condition was described as serious, but not life-threatening, before the operation.
The incident happened shortly before four o'clock, when an unidentified man attacked Ms Lindh on the first floor of the NK department store in central Stockholm's main retail area.
Eye-witnesses claim she was pushed to the ground and then stabbed a number of times by an unknown man. There were no bodyguards with Ms Lindh, and the attacker, who fled the scene immediately, was still being sought by police last night. The knife used by the assailant was discovered at the department store and was being examined by technical experts last night.
Ms Lindh had just left her office in the department of foreign affairs, and was in the store on a private visit. She was due to appear in a television debate last night.
Swedish politicians are used to being able to move about freely. Only the - still unsolved - murder of the then prime minister, Mr Olaf Palme, in 1986, disturbed the political calm and safety that pervaded Sweden.
The Swedish Prime Minister's press secretary, Ms Paula Burreau, told Swedish radio yesterday that there was no particular known threat against Ms Lindh, a leading campaigner on the Yes side of Sweden's euro referendum, due to take place on Sunday.
In a hastily arranged press conference, the Swedish Prime Minister, Mr Göran Persson, described the incident as "not just an attack on her (Ms Lindh) but an attack on our open society". He suspended the Yes campaign's activities until further notice. In response, the Green Party - the main party opposing the euro - also suspended its activities.
The Yes side had been trailing significantly in the referendum campaign. The most recent opinion poll indicates that 39 per cent of the public are in favour of Sweden joining the euro, while 51 per cent are against.
Pro-euro campaigners have struggled in their campaign, due mainly to a series of political blunders on their own side. Despite officially advocating a Yes vote, the country's ruling party - the Social Democrats - has failed to present a united front. Three senior ministers are opposed to the euro, including the deputy prime minister Ms Margareta Winberg, and Minister for Trade, Mr Leif Pagrotsky (a particularly visible anti-euro campaigner).
The Yes campaign has also been unable to gain the support of the country's influential LO trade union. Instead, the trade union has adopted a neutral stance.
Yesterday's attack is not expected to have far-reaching effects on the outcome of the referendum, though political analysts in Sweden believe it may give the Yes side a boost, as public sympathy will move towards Ms Lindh and, therefore, the pro-euro campaign.