Swedish defense minister quits

Sweden's defense minister, Sten Tolgfor, resigned on Thursday after facing an onslaught of criticism over leaked plans for the Nordic state to help build a weapons plant in Saudi Arabia, according to a top government official.

"He (Tolgfors) has resigned at his own request," said Roberta Alenius, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.

But Tolgfors' departure is a reluctant one, according to commentators. The minister has been the target of criticism for weeks since Swedish public radio broadcasted controversial leaked papers. The documents reported that Swedish military agencies have engaged in talks with Saudi Arabia for the construction of a facility for the repair and modification of anti-tank weapons. Swedish weapons exports to Saudi Arabia are not banned, but the documents suggested that the deal was to be orchestrated in a way that would prevent the development becoming public.

Tolgfors had displayed some determination to fight for his position as defense minister when the intelligence first came to light in March by insisting that the agreement was in line with a military cooperation agreement that the two countries negotiated in 2005 and renewed in 2010. But new revelations regarding the details of the affair have continued to trickle through and mounting calls for his resignation from the government's left wing-opposition made his position untenable.

The turn of events will add to Swedish Prime Minister Reinfeldt's woes; his minority centre-right government, made up of four parties, has slipped in the opinion polls after the largest opposition party, the Social Democrats, announced a new party leader with a strong following. In contrast, Reinfeldt's popularity has been ebbing, a trend which was recently exacerbated when he was forced to delay further income tax cuts because of Sweden's economic slowdown. But as Sweden's next election is not until 2014, Reinfeldt may have time to recover.

sej/ (AP, Reuters)