John Laughland in The European Journal reports: Leading politicians in Denmark and Sweden have used the financial crisis as an excuse for starting a new campaign in favour of the euro. Public opinion, however, is unimpressed and the single currency remains as unpopular as before. More people remain opposed to abolishing the national currencies in both countries than those who support this. Both countries would need to have a referendum before adopting the euro; neither country now seems likely to hold one. In Denmark the polls show 42 per cent against the euro and 40 per cent in favour but that is not enough for the government to win a referendum, at least according to the current Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who is trying to hold out the prospect of a new euro referendum by 2011. In Sweden the latest figures are 53 per cent against. (as opposed to 56 per cent when the Swedes voted against the euro in 2003). The reason for the continuing opposition to the euro is not difficult to discern: it is that Sweden and Denmark have continued to fare better outside the euro zone than inside it. [Helmut Steuer, Handelsblatt, 12 November 2008]
