Swedish Prime Minister Slammed for Slow Response to Forest Fires

Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, already trailing the opposition before elections next month, is now fighting criticism he failed to grasp the seriousness of Sweden’s worst forest fires on record until it was too late.

The country’s third-biggest newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet, yesterday covered its front page with an attack on Reinfeldt, reminding voters he “waited seven days” before visiting the site of the fires. Dagens Nyheter, Sweden’s biggest newspaper, said Reinfeldt must accept his alleged mishandling of the blaze will “take over the election debate.” The nation’s biggest tabloid, Aftonbladet, said it took a “catastrophe” to make clear Swedish emergency services are inadequate.