Having resigned myself to cajoling from the sidelines in the upcoming referendum on whether Sweden should join the EMU, I was surprised and, to be honest, gleeful to find an actual röstkort, or voting card, in my mail when I dropped into Stockholm for a job interview this past weekend. It appears that, as a resident, I am eligible to vote in this referendum. And vote no I will. My reasons are here, here and here.

I’m really quite flattered by this. This is making me very grateful to Sweden. It will in fact be the first time in my life that I get to vote. Admittedly, it is unusual to find a Belgian who has never voted — you are obligated by law to vote if you are in the motherland on election day. But I’ve hardly ever lived in Belgium, and certainly not on an election day. Meanwhile, Belgians living “abroad” were not eligible to vote until this year. So don’t blame me for my dismal voting record, blame the size of my country — I never manage to stay in itThis weblog was all set to ease slowly back into substantive issues after a summer’s worth of somewhat superficial travelogging (one of the downsides of reading this blog is that when I’m shallow, you’ll know about it), when in popped this gloriously bloggable röstkort..

Everywhere else I’ve lived, I’ve been subject to the usual regime of taxation without representation. The US was especially happy to take my tax dollars without asking me how to spend them. Voting opportunities, then, have not exactly been falling in my lap.

Until now, apparently. I had been under the impression that even progressive Sweden would leave weighty decisions — such as whether to switch currencies — to Swedish citizens only. Every Swede I’ve talked to had assumed so too; Anna and Magnus were in despair at my newly acquired electoral clout, though perhaps their reaction had more to do with how I plan to use my vote. I can see their point, however. How dare I have a say in the future of Sweden so rapidly after my arrival here; I’ve been a resident in Sweden for less than a year. All I had to do was turn up and register for an ID card.

I went to a party for foreign ministry types Friday night, where EMU discussions were rampant. I posited a few theories. Perhaps my röstkort was a mistake? “The state never makes mistakes,” one Swede replied, with a wry smile.

“It shows they’re desperate,” said another. If they’re letting foreigners vote, it’s because they need all the yes votes they can get, and foreigners, presumably, are already sold on the euro. Would this be legal? Quite possibly, because these folkomröstningar, or referendums, are not actually legally binding, though they have a moral authority that a Swedish government would find impossible to ignore.

Nobody was in any doubt that the result of the referendum will be a no. Polls have shown a consistent majority for the no-camp, though I wouldn’t write off the yes camp just yet: In particular, many Swedes have been on vacation in euroland, where they used and possibly liked the euro. The mood of these returning holidaymakers has not yet been captured by polls.

Almost everyone at this Stockholm party intended to vote yes. In the spirit of debate, I told several people that their voting intentions stem from nothing more than desire to vote in favor of whatever rural Sweden is against. If the farmers are against it, then it has to be a good thing, goes the rationale. This mental shortcut is lazy, for it leaves out the possibility that most no-voters have reached the correct conclusion for the wrong reason. I believe this is the case. Most reasons for voting no are bunk, but this does not invalidate the no case — most reasons for voting yes are bunk too.

Also, the euro vote is not necessarily a choice between what is good for Sweden and what is good for Europe. I am convinced that a no vote is the best thing both for Sweden and the EU. Expanding EMU beyond its optimal area is going to lead to political frictions as soon as member countries’ immediate economic goals diverge, as they are already beginning to do. I am a strong believer in keeping the monetary and political spheres separate, because I hope that the EU keeps on growing. The EU should be a club for countries that observe best practices in democracy, free trade, and human rights, not an exclusionary Christian country club, not an economic fortress, and certainly not, as one person was hoping, a “counterbalance” to US power (oh the folly of that idea).

But I am repeating myself; more interesting was the positive reception these ideas got from many of the people I talked to. The economic risks were readily acknowledged; instead, the maintenance of political clout within the EU was touted as the ultimate reason for their yes vote. “Sweden should be a joiner,” was the refrain. “Sweden should be in the lead.” Sure, unless the planned activity is jumping off a cliff.

I could of course be wrong. The euro might just work fabulously, despite the risks. I promise to vote yes in 5-10 years if this is the case, so that Sweden can join at the same time as Poland and the Baltics. In the meantime, Sweden’s GDP growth looks set to handily outpace that of euroland. Adopting the euro is a decision that is practically impossible to undo; there really is no need to rush into itImages courtesy of my röstkort. This last image instructs me to eat a hot dog after voting..

I will vote conscientiously on September 14, but there is one thing that receiving my röstkort has allowed me to do right away. I now have a much more satisfying way to end EMU arguments. I tried it on Anna, and boy does it work: “In any case,” I told her, “my vote will cancel out yours.”