Göran Persson

Göran Persson in 2006

Hans Göran Persson (born 20 January 1949) is a Swedish Social Democratic politician. He was the Prime Minister of Sweden from March 1996 to October 2006 and the leader of the Social Democratic Party from March 1996 to March 2007.

Quotes

• Jaha, jag har bråttom. Öpp öpp! Håll er borta.
  • Translation: Right, I'm in a hurry. Öpp öpp! Stay away.
  • Source: Youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5zqsFJ0K2s

• För mig är det oerhört slående vad politisk stabilitet betyder för ekonomisk utveckling när man ser det kinesiska exemplet.
  • Translation: To me it is enormously striking what political stability means for economic development when you look at the Chinese example.
  • Said to reporters during a state visit to the People's Republic of China (November 4, 1996). [1]

• Den som är satt i skuld är inte fri.
  • Translation: Those who are indebted are not free.
  • The title of his 1997 book about dealing with the economic crisis and the large government debt in the 1990s.

• Kanske jag blir lite för duktig ibland... Kanske är jag för påläst och kan ibland uppfattas som lite mästrande.
  • Translation: Maybe I seem a little too clever sometimes... Maybe I'm too well prepared and I may sometimes be regarded as a little fault finding.
  • Answering a question about his weaknesses in the Swedish newspaper Expressen (August 30, 2000).

• Jag leder inte världens mest briljanta regering. Statsråden tillhör inte den yppersta intellektuella eliten och särskilt vackra är vi inte heller.
  • Translation: I'm not leading the world's most brilliant cabinet. The ministers don't belong to the most outstanding intellectual elite and we're not particularly beautiful either.
  • Said in a speech to Komvux (adult secondary education) students in Norrköping in 2002, according to the Swedish news agency TT.

• Jag är feminist, men vill inte driva de här frågorna så hårt att jag skapar motsättningar i samhället.
  • Translation: I'm a feminist, but I don't want to push these issues so hard that I create hostilities in society.
  • Said to the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet (January 24, 2002).

• Fri rörlighet för arbetskraft vill vi ha, men inte social turism. Där får vi inte vara naiva.
  • Translation: We want free movement of labour, but not social tourism. There, we must not be naive.
  • Said in an interview with Sveriges Radio - Ekot about the EU enlargement (November 11, 2003).

• Bush är underskattad i Europa och han är en skicklig politiker, även om vi inte tycker om hans politik.
  • Translation: Bush is underestimated in Europe and he is a skilled politician, even though we don't like his policies.
  • Said about U.S. President George W. Bush and quoted in the Swedish newspaper Expressen (November 2, 2004).

• Jag har trots allt läst på kemisk–teknisk linje på gymnasiet, så jag förstår vad det handlar om.
  • Translation: I have after all studied on the chemico-technical programme in high school, so I understand what it's all about.
  • Said about nuclear power in an interview the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet