Political reporter Erich Fichtelius started working on his documentary project in 1996 when Göran Persson was chosen by the Social Democratic party of Sweden to lead the party and thus to take office as the Prime Minister. The unprecedented access to the prime minister was kept secret and was conditional on the documentary not being shown until he was no longer in office. Fichtelius conducted 57 interviews, totalling more than 100 hours of material, during Persson's 10 years in office. The secrecy of the project caused controversies when it was finally revealed as Fichtelius had continued to work as a political reporter throughout the project, casting doubt on his impartiality, and resulting in his resignation from several posts. After Persson's electoral defeat and subsequent resignation in 2006, the material was edited into four one-hour segments and broadcast on Swedish television in 2007.