I was a little toddler when President John F Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, but certainly not when the same happened to the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme in 1986. It occurs to me that there are a number of parallels to be drawn. Here we go: * Both Sweden and the US had a long history of national leaders being killed. For the US, before Kennedy, Lincoln, McKinley, Garfield. For Sweden kings Gustavus Adolphous and Charles XII (died in battle), Gustav III (assassinated), and then Palme. * Both Kennedy (Democrat) and Palme (Social Democrat) were to the left of middle in politics. * Both were from families of "nobility". The Kennedy clan has been described as the closest to a "royal family" there's been in the US. Palme's grandmother was Finland-Swedish nobility and his mother German-Baltic nobility and the young Olof grew up in the upper class. * Both had their possible successors assassinated. JFK's brother Robert fell for a murderer's bullet during his presidential campaign. The Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh was knifed to death in 2003, but was generally considered as the natural successor to the then Prime Minister Göran Persson (who has said he was to to resign mid-period and let Anna take over). * Both were men of words, making speeches reaching international attention. Kennedy: "We choose to go to the Moon...", "Ich bin ein Berliner", "Ask not what your country...". Palme: comparing Vietnam to Treblinka etc (angered Nixon to the point of pulling the US Ambassador), "creatues of dicatorship" in Czechoslovakia, "these bloody killers" (about the Franco dictatorship in Spain). * Both took their high offices at an unprecedented young age: Kennedy was 43, Palme became Prime Minister at the age of 42. * Both were surrounded by Infidelity rumours. Kennedy with Marilyn Monroe, Palme with Shirley MacLaine. Hollywood actresses both. * Both murders linger somewhere in the realm of "solved...unsolved". I have no doubt that Lee Harvey Oswald fired those bullets from the schoolbook depository, but there are many unanswered questions. A fourth bullet? What did the guy do in the USSR? Why was he himself killed? People behind? For Palme, the murder is officially unsolved, but one Christer Pettersson was convicted for it in a lower court, then acquitted in the appeals court for "insufficient evidence" (despite the widow and a son pointing to him, with some degree of certainty). Sources in the Stockholm police claim the murder is "in police terms" solved - it was Pettersson, but the last little detail to nail him 100% was lacking. (Personally, I believe it was the mentally unstable drug-addict Pettersson, earlier convicted for a manslaughter. Makes sense.) More parallels could be made. Both having a personal charisma. Both having a military career.Both travelling abroad, Kennedy in Europe before WWII, Palme in the US after the war. Both had their wife present when the deed took place. Both were assassinated on an "open street". Etc. --Ahrvid -- ahrvid@xxxxxxxxxxx / Follow @SFJournalen on Twitter for the latest news in short form! / Gå med i SKRIVA - för författande, sf, fantasy, kultur (skriva-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, subj: subscribe) info www.skriva.bravewriting.com / Om Ahrvids novellsamling Mord på månen: http://zenzat.wordpress.com/bocker C Fuglesang: "stor förnöjelse...jättebra historier i mycket sannolik framtidsmiljö"! /Nu som ljudbok: http://elib.se/ebook_detail.asp?id_type=ISBN&id86081462 / Läs även AE i nya E-antologin Sista resan http://www.welaforlag.se/ebok.htm#sistaresan / YXSKAFTBUD, GE VÅR WCZONMÖ IQ-HJÄLP! (DN NoN 00.02.07) ----- SKRIVA - sf, fantasy och skräck * Äldsta svenska skrivarlistan grundad 1997 * Info http://www.skriva.bravewriting.com eller skriva- request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx för listkommandon (ex subject: subscribe).