Swedes fear euro adoption would hurt business
Opposition to euro adoption is growing in Sweden, where more and more people fear that businesses would suffer in a crisis if the country replaced the krona with the single currency.
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A poll published in the newspaper Dagens Industri revealed that 61 percent of those questioned opposed membership of the eurozone, with only 25 percent in favor and 14 percent having no opinion.
The poll, carried out between May 27 and June 1 by the institute Novus Opinion, disclosed a sharp turnarond in public sentiment in the past year.
According to a similar poll conducted in May last year, 49 percent of those questioned backed euro adoption, with 44 percent opposed and 9.0 percent expressing no opinion.
Results of the latest questionaire showed that the krona is seen as shielding the Swedish economy in a time of global economic crisis.
Thirty-five percent of the respondents believed that the euro would have put Sweden at a disadvantage in the worldwide meltdown that began in late 2008, against 21 percent who said the single currency would have been beneficial.
Sixteen percent had no opinion on the question and 27 percent held that the euro would have made no difference.
But Swedish business leaders appeared to take a more favorable view of the euro, with only 40 percent voicing opposition to its adoption.
Business leaders however represented only 5.7 percent of those questioned, according to Novus Opinion.
Sweden fell into recession during the crisis before returning to growth in the second quarter of 2009.
The economy expanded a stronger than expected 1.4 percent in the first quarter of 2010.
Last Updated (Thursday, 03 June 2010 13:11)









