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Sweden FM quits over cartoons
21/03/2006 16:33 - (SA)
Stockholm - Swedish foreign minister
Laila Freivalds quit on Tuesday after a row over the closure of
a website with cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, embarrassing
Prime Minister Goran Persson six months ahead of elections.
Social Democrat (SDP) leader Persson, behind in polls that
favour the conservative opposition in September's vote, had for
months resisted calls to sack the unpopular minister over her
response to the Asian tsunami, in which 500 Swedes died.
But she was forced to resign when it was revealed this week
that she had not given full information about her role in the
closure of a site belonging to a far-right political party which
published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad offensive to Muslims.
"Under the current circumstances I find it impossible to
conduct my work and therefore choose to resign," Freivalds said
at a joint news conference with the prime minister.
"It was her own decision," said Persson, who had previously
criticised a junior foreign ministry official for putting
pressure on a private internet hosting company to close the website belonging to an anti-immigrant Swedish political party.
Such pressure violates constitutional guarantees of free
speech. Freivalds originally said she did not know her ministry
had contacted the company, but documents published this week in
the Swedish media proved that she had been informed.
One less problem?
Analysts do not think foreign policy will play a major role
in elections likely to focus on unemployment, but Freivalds has
long been an unpopular figure in the government.
"This means that they will have one less problem and it
can't, at any rate, worsen their chances of winning the
election," said Mikael Gilljam, politics professor at Gothenburg
University.
"I think she should have quit before this," said David
Revesz, a Swedish doctor who was in Thailand during the tsunami
and had organised a petition calling for her resignation.
Even one of the SDP's own parliamentary partners, the
Greens, had called for a vote of no confidence against Freivalds
over the tsunami. She went to the theatre on the day of the
disaster.
"It's good we have finally put an end to this story," said
Green Party leader Peter Eriksson.
The Social Democrats, who have governed Sweden for six of
the last seven decades, have a minority government which relies
on the support of the Greens and the Left party in parliament.
Together they have about 46-47% of support in opinion
polls versus about 50% for the centre-right opposition.
Freivalds will be replaced temporarily by Deputy Prime
Minister Bosse Ringholm, who has been ridiculed in the media
after twice leaving his phone off the hook after interviews and
being heard to make insulting comments about the reporters.
It was Freivalds' second dramatic exit from Persson's
cabinet. She had to resign as justice minister in 2000 following
revelations of property dealings contrary to government policy.
(Additional reporting by Simon Johnson and Eva Odefalk)
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