Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt told Bloomberg that Sweden’s economy won’t need more government help and predicted the recovery has become self-sustaining as he seeks to win a third term in office this year.

“Optimism is spreading, for example in the services sector,” the 48-year-old said in an interview with Bloomberg. “If we can show that we’ve implemented reforms that have created jobs and also had an ability to lead Sweden through a difficult crisis, and that we emerge stronger than other countries, then I think people have an ability to value that.”

The Scandinavian country's GDP will expand 2.8 percent this year, compared with 1.1 percent in the euro area, the EU commission estimates. Unemployment was 8 percent in November, versus a crisis peak of 9.3 percent in April 2010.