International
Swedish PM reshuffles government after data scandal
Swedish data scandal
July 27, 2017 | 11:30 AM
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven on Thursday reshuffled his minority left-green government in response to a scandal over the outsourcing of IT services, shunning the more drastic option of calling an early election.
Faced with a political crisis over the botched outsourcing deal, in which sensitive data was potentially leaked abroad, Lofven opted to replace two government ministers rather than hold a snap vote more than a year ahead of schedule."I have to take responsibility for the country. It wouldn't serve Sweden to throw the country into a political crisis," Lofven told a news conference, citing the many challenges Sweden and the European Union were facing, including Brexit.He said two ministers involved in the row -- Interior Minister Anders Ygeman and Infrastructure Minister Anna Johansson -- had resigned. Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist remains in his post, he said.Opposition parties had called for a no-confidence vote in all three ministers.The scandal has blown up in recent weeks after it emerged that an entire database on Swedish drivers' licences was made available to technicians in the Czech Republic and Romania, with media reporting that the identities of intelligence agents may have been jeopardised.
July 27, 2017 | 11:30 AM