Swedish foreign minister stabbed by knife

[Chemical Ollie]

They believe the lunatic in Arvika who walked out of a volontary mental clinic, stabbed a 5-year old to death in her kindergarten and walked back to the mental clinic actually was a copy-cat, inspired by the Lindh murder.

[Buck Birdseed]

The Psychiatry Reform was carried out by the Bildt government in a mistaken attempt at making institutionalised health care more "liberal". Typical right-wing behaviour.

[Chemical Ollie]

Originally posted by Buck Birdseed
The Psychiatry Reform was carried out by the Bildt government in a mistaken attempt at making institutionalised health care more "liberal". Typical right-wing behaviour.

I haven't heard of the details until now, but the treatment methods sounds nothing like a proposal from any conservative party. I would assume it was a compromise to satisfy the social-liberal members of the coalition.

[Combat Ingrid]

Typical Swedish politics: the left-wing and right-wing blame it on eachother

Obviously the psychiatry reform was unsuccessful, now just let's get the wackos off the streets until they can behave.

[Buck Birdseed]

Actually to be fair it was more or less based on an SOU report, so blame the overzealous scientists who proposed the changes. In Sweden where the Social Democrats are by far the most instiution-bound party I doubt that such a move would be something they'd propose themselves... Can we just blame Folkpartiet and be done with it?

[Buck Birdseed]

The thing is, you'll find many of the psychologists who critisise the current state of mental health in Sweden still support the reform. It's just that many of the regions chose to take the opportunity to make underhanded cuts in their mental health budgets as there no longer were any stable, controllable institutions... It would be a strange coincidence indeed if all the attacks that have happened this year (iron pipe beating trolls man, car into crowd voices in head man, cutting pensioners ears off with samurai sword man, etc.) were connected only by their happening nine years after the reform was voted through. Something else must have happened in the meantime that made the frequency rise just now.

[Combat Ingrid]

The reform may be old, but as far as I know the mental patients have only recently started to settle in the streets. To be honest, I don't really know more about this than what media has been feeding me, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Buck Birdseed]

We're using the same sources then.

But the question is, why have they only recently settled in the street? Surely the answer muct be budget cuts.

[Winston]

Mental health care, psychiatric reforms...

So this wasn't a political assassination?

[Buck Birdseed]

Possible but unlikely. Police think that the assailant only saw Anna Lindh outside or at NK and decided to kill her on a whim.

[Combat Ingrid]

Originally posted by Buck Birdseed
We're using the same sources then.

But the question is, why have they only recently settled in the street? Surely the answer muct be budget cuts.

Seems like that. Actually, I wasn't even aware this reform was that old. I got the impression it was very new, which would explain why the wackos ended up in the streets just recently.

Well, let's just hope they catch the killer soon.

[Chemical Ollie]

Originally posted by Winston
Mental health care, psychiatric reforms...

So this wasn't a political assassination?

That would be extremely surprising. The likely procedure was that he was walking around in the mall, saw a famous person and attacked her. He would probably have done the same to a sport star or rock star, it just happened to be a politician. Or perhaps he was bitter at society and would do it to any politician.

I mean, how could he know she was going to be there? She took an hour off to go shopping clothes to wear at the scheduled TV debate later that evening. That wasn't in any official agenda he could had looked up. And the way he did it was nothing like a professional killer would have done. Sure, a pro killer could dress like a bum to confuse the police, but he would make a faster kill and not throw the bloody knife and jacket where the police could find it. Now they have his fingerprints and DNA, so it's only a matter of time before they have him.

[Winston]

Four days before a national referendum on a very contested issue for which she was the main proponent? Come on.

I'm reminded of our PM and Foreign minister being assaulted outside a parliamentay meeting by radical socialists following a decision on joining the coalition against Iraq just 6 months ago.

The difference was that red paint was the weapon of choice on that occassion. But we should not forget that people with extremist views and enough built-up hatred will often resort to violence.

Our PM now has round the clock security, which he didn't before Iraq.

[Chemical Ollie]

I remember the paint assault on your PM. But that happened outside the parliament, where a polician is expected to pass sooner or later. The socialists just had to wait patiently for the victim. Security cameras revealed that this guy was in the shopping mall long before Anna Lindh arrived. There was no way he could know that she would be there. But sure, he could had been a neo-nazi or anarchist who took the opportunity when it happened to occure.

[Winston]

Yes, he took the opportunity once it presented itself, that was my thoughts, Ollie.

I'm stunned by people and the media not focusing more on the obvious - a political motive drove this guy once he spotted her. Otherwise it's the greatest coincidence I've ever heard of, four days before the vote.

She was killed because she was an outspoken proponent of the single currency. And might I add, also quite a controversial political figure, despite the nice words in the papers just now.