SWEDEN - Following the recent Swedish elections, speculations are rife in the Swedish media about which ministers will be reshuffled.

This could have significant effects on members of the so-called Pensionsgruppen - a working group created in 2008 to monitor the industry and recommend reforms, where all five of Sweden's political parties in government are represented. 

A name that has featured in particular has been Mats Odell, the minister for local government and financial markets, who in his role overseas the AP funds. He is also a member of the Pensionsgruppen.

Another name mentioned has been Christina Husmark Pehrsson, the social security minister, who also sits on the working group.

The centre-right parties retained their lead over the centre-left in the Swedish elections on 19 September, but failed to achieve a majority.

Instead, the Sweden Democrat, an extreme right-wing party, received enough votes to be of possible strategic importance.

Odell's speculated departure has been linked to the fact his party, the Christian Democrats, saw its support fall significantly.

The Social Democrats also had a disastrous election result, and there have been calls from within the party for rejuvenation at the top, which may also lead to changes within Pensiongruppen.

In addition, to nullify the potential power of the Sweden Democrats, the government, led by prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, is also likely to try to woo the Green Party, which so far has been part of the centre-left group, which again may mean further changes.

If rejuvenation is one of the goals, the existing members of the Pensionsgruppen - Ulf Nilsson, Lars Gustafsson, Solveig Zander and Kurt Kvarnström - are not particularly young either.
 

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