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Reinfeldt keen on housework: US embassy

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Reinfeldt keen on housework: US embassy

Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt is a reserved person who likes to do housework and whose opinions are likely influenced a great deal by his wife Filippa, according to a cable from the US embassy released by WikiLeaks.

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Ahead of a meeting between Reinfeldt and Barack Obama last year, the US embassy in Stockholm sent a report to the US president describing Sweden’s foreign policy as well as the prime minister’s personality.

According to the report, which was reviewed by the Aftonbladet newspaper, “Swedish foreign policymakers are a perplexing gang”.

Obama was also told that Reinfeldt is a reserved person who “constantly talks about climate change”.

In another report, sent to Obama’s advisors, Reinfeldt is described as a leader who lets his ministers have the spotlight and prefers to govern from behind the scenes – even if he can make important decisions when it’s required.

Reinfeldt’s wife Filippa, a Moderate Party politician active in Stockholm County, is said to have a great deal of influence over her husband.

“She is his closest confidant and likely shapes his political views,” according to the US embassy report.

The American embassy also informed Obama’s advisors that Sweden’s prime minister likes to do household chores and is happy to clean in order to keep dust away from his allergy-prone children.

Sweden’s foreign policy is described in the report written for Obama as contradictory.

“Sometimes they are quick to take a surprisingly hard line (like with Russia’s invasion of Georgia) and sometimes they are so slow that they bring EU decision makers to a standstill (like with the EU’s autonomous sanctions against Iran),” reads the report.

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