A four-party centre-right coalition won last Sunday’s election in Sweden, but the result was marred by a high-profile hacking scandal, when the Social Democratic party complained its private computer network was accessed from the outside. Several officials from the Liberal Party, member of the winning coalition, were officially charged and its general secretary resigned a fortnight before the elections, prompting the media in Sweden to debate if the party leader, Lars Leijonborg, was to step down as well.

According to reports in Sweden, the Liberal Party obtained a password for the internal network of the Social Democrats, and used it to access confidential materials regarding election strategy. The Social Democratic party has claimed the network reserved for its leadership was breached 78 times between January and March this year. The party has also complained the loss of such highly sensitive information has damaged its election campaign. At the same time, officials from the Liberal Party admitted using inside information during their campaign but denied they knew where it came from. The person responsible for the hacks, a youth-wing official, was immediately sacked. Party secretary Johan Jakobsson also resigned, saying that he should have “acted more forcefully” to prevent the youth official from using the stolen password, suggesting that he was aware of the fact the Social Democrats private network is being milked for data.

In the end, however, the hacking scandal did not damage the centre-right coalition’s bid for power, as it managed to oust the Social Democrats after 12 years in office. Interestingly, though, the Liberal Party itself did slip into third place in the winning coalition, when it should have come second. There is also still the unresolved issue of the future of party leader Lars Leijonborg, who has been touted as a potential foreign minister in the new coalition government. However, it has also been suggested in Sweden that the hacking scandal could still force Mr Leijonborg to resign.