Goran Persson: It is impossible to imagine that she is not among us any more, and we are still in shock, and on top of everything else, she was not only a politician but also a mother - two young boys, a husband.

Persson: She was my best friend

And then [she was] a good fellow among others in the cabinet. We had a very close and good relation and we miss her so much.

BBC: What do you think it says about Sweden that this could happen? You are renowned throughout the world for your open, tolerant, liberal society. How could this happen?

GP: I don't know, because we don't know who did it. Let's wait with speculations, but we have an open society and we want to stick to that. We want to have a close relation between the electorate and the politicians.

We want to be able to meet them direct, in a dialogue, even the prime minister and minister of foreign affairs and we have been able to do so, and I hope that we will be able to stick to that also in the future.

No delay

BBC: But in a practical sense, do you think you can continue, for example to allow your senior politicians, cabinet ministers to in their private time travel around without protection?

GP: I hope so. Don't forget, this is the normal way of living for a politician in the Scandinavian countries: Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark - we are all alike.

Democracy must not be stopped by violence

And we don't want to end up in a situation with heavy security, we want to have a close relationship with our electorate - be able to meet them in their daily life, be able to have a communication, a dialogue, that is real and not constructed.

BBC: Not only have you had to deal with this terrible loss of Anna Lindh, but you have also had to take a very difficult decision about this referendum on Sunday. You have decided that it must go ahead. Are you convinced that is the right decision?

GP: Yes, I am fully convinced. But I must admit that I hesitated at first. But when I argued with myself, and then after that also with the other party leaders we all ended up with the conclusion, if we hesitate now and we delay the [referendum], postpone it, then something else can happen in a couple of weeks and what shall we then do?

I am in shock but at the same time I am responsible for the government

No, the democracy must be defended and the democracy must not be stopped by violence. We go ahead with the [referendum] even if it is something that just now is very difficult.

BBC: I suppose the problem we outsiders see is that it is such an artificial atmosphere now, and it is bound to have an impact upon that referendum which of course is is about something obviously completely unrelated to the tragedy that we have just seen.

GP: Yes and we discussed that as well and we agreed, all parties, despite [the fact that] we have different opinions about the issue that is up to the referendum to decide about - the euro - even though we have different opinions we agreed it is better to go ahead with the referendum than postpone it, and we all respect the result and none of us knows in which way this have an impact on the referendum.

A legitimate vote?

BBC: I have to ask you this question: if there is a majority for Yes in the referendum, some people might say that that clearly is connected to a sympathy vote as a result of the tragedy that befell Anna Lindh, because the opinion polls before the murder were quite clearly showing a majority for No. How will you be able to convince your own people that that is a legitimate Yes?

GP: I don't think it will be so difficult, because for one thing we remember the last referendum in '94. Then the electorate decided in the last week how to vote, and the campaign on the streets this last week, before this murder, was mainly carried out by the Yes side...

I haven't yet been able to sit down to reflect, to mourn, for myself, and I have that still ahead of me

We know that so many decide in the last week, that the opinion polls didn't tell us anything about the real outcome, a week ago, or 10 days ago, We know from '94 that it was the last days that were decisive.

BBC: It probably has been the most difficult week of your political career, I imagine. Try to encapsulate for me how this week, which is nearly at an end now, has affected you.

GP: I really don't know to be honest. I am in shock but at the same time I am responsible for the government, and to see to it that the cabinet is working correctly. We shall see that we are also functioning in a situation like this.

Then, she was my best friend and we have worked together for many many years, and I haven't yet been able to sit down to reflect, to mourn, for myself, and I have that still ahead of me.