Swedish PM Reshuffles Govt. after Scandal, Declines to Call Early Election
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – 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, Reuters reported.
He said two ministers involved in the row -- Interior Minister Anders Ygeman and Infrastructure Minister Anna Johansson -- had resigned. Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist remains in his post, he said.
Opposition parties had called for a no confidence vote in all three ministers.
