Olof Palme's Wife Is Killed, But He Survives The Assasination Attempt?

His wife Lisbeth was shot also in OTL but thankfully survived. What would have changed had Olof survived well enough to remain PM of Sweden! He was strongly non-aligned and was a mediator in the Iran-Iraq war. Also Sweden faced a massive banking crisis ala Ireland today in the 90s could this have been averted? Are we talking about a great statesman or somebody full of his own ego. Many disparate groups were implicated in his murder from disaffected Kurdish rebels to BOSS agents from Apartheid S. Africa! The person Lisbeth identified as the assasain was actually acquitted and seems to have been a social misfit if anything!
BTW with the current spate of Swedish crime fiction all the rage and indeed Nordic crime fiction incl Larson and Mankell - if this event never happened would we still have such darkness in the face of what's often taken as a near ideal society (that claim is way OTT, IMO)?
 
His wife Lisbeth was shot also in OTL but thankfully survived. What would have changed had Olof survived well enough to remain PM of Sweden! He was strongly non-aligned and was a mediator in the Iran-Iraq war. Also Sweden faced a massive banking crisis ala Ireland today in the 90s could this have been averted? Are we talking about a great statesman or somebody full of his own ego. Many disparate groups were implicated in his murder from disaffected Kurdish rebels to BOSS agents from Apartheid S. Africa! The person Lisbeth identified as the assasain was actually acquitted and seems to have been a social misfit if anything!
BTW with the current spate of Swedish crime fiction all the rage and indeed Nordic crime fiction incl Larson and Mankell - if this event never happened would we still have such darkness in the face of what's often taken as a near ideal society (that claim is way OTT, IMO)?

The bankingcrisis came because of the overhaul made in the taxsystem in the 80ths. I suggest you listen to P3 dokumentär and their story about that bankcrisis, if you are swedish that is.

If he survives but Lisbeth is killed and the assasin caught then we get one major butterfly: The swedish police dont get their reputation tarnished and Holmer dont resignt and writes books. Ebbe Carlsson and his affair dont happen. Palme leads the Socialdemocrats 1 or 2 election more until someone younger takes over, and this time we dont get Ingvar Carlsson. Olof was 59 in 86 and i dont think he would have the engery left in him after Lisbeth was killed to go on for many years as the head of the Social democrats.
 
To what extent has this murder and the subsequent one of a prominent female Swedish government minister led to the explosion of dark Swedish crime fiction and indeed nordic crime fiction in general!
 
Two things about this come to mind. First, a surviving Palme would likely be a man possessed to solve the murder/attempted double murder, and that would mean that even if he didn't die himself, it would a very high-profile case and the Swedish police would be pressed hard to solve it as long as Palme is the premier.

Given Palme's international political position and his knowledge of being opposed in different parts of the world, he might even pressure the police and the Swedish security service to consider the possibility of foreign intelligence or criminal organisations being behind the murder as the main line of inquiry. This is of course conjecture, it is hard to say how Palme would actually handle the situation.

Second, if Palme can/will continue as premier and party chairman, he could conceivably stay in charge until the breakup of the Soviet Union. Palme would enjoy a huge amount of sympathy from the people in Sweden and from Social Democrats and the non-aligned movement around the world. It is hard to say if the murder and close escape from death would have an effect on his mental well-being. If he suffers from post-traumatic stress or similar problems, he could stand down and retire as a highly respected figure. If he can continue his political work, today he would be very much considered a Swedish SDP legend.

I believe Sweden would be a bit more prominent on the international stage and its policies somewhat more to the left than it was IOTL after Palme's death in the 80s. About issues like Palestine it might find itself more at odds with Israel.
 
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