Top Liberal admits drunk driving

Liberal Party member of parliament Karin Pilsäter is to leave all her political duties until further notice after driving her car while over the alcohol limit. Pilsäter was caught by a police unit on Saturday.

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"We think it's good that she takes time out," said party secretary Johan Jakobsson to TT.

"We have not asked her to give a specific time for when she will come back. The ball is in her court."

In a press statement Pilsäter said that at 9.30 on Saturday morning she made "a dreadful mistake" when she drove her car despite having been drinking wine the night before. A police check on Huddingevägen found that Pilsäter had the equivalent to 0.3 parts per thousand of alcohol in her blood when the asked her to take a breath test. The alcohol limit for drivers is 0.2 parts per thousand.

"I have informed Lars Leijonborg [leader of the Liberal Party] of what's happened." wrote Pilsäter in her statement.

"Now I need time to think through the situation which I've got myself into. I will request time off from parliament and other commissions of trust."

She added that she ought to have known better.

Karin Pilsäter is 45 years old and entered parliament in 1998 as a representative of Stockholm district. She is currently a member of the parliamentary finance committee as well as a deputy in the tax committee and the EU committee. But she is best known as the Liberal Party's economic spokesman.

It is not yet clear who will replace her in her duties.

"We have not taken a position on how long she'll be out for. So we don't know what the requirement is for a replacement. It feels too early to speculate," said Johan Jakobsson.

He added that drunk driving is a serious crime and that it was good that Pilsäter would have time to think about it.

Jakobsson also pointed out that the Liberals have proposed that on top of the fine all drunk drivers should undergo a mandatory rehabilitation programme.

The law states that a driver with 0.3 parts per thousand of alcohol in the blood should have his or her driver's licence taken away for a month and 50 days' fine.

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TT/The Local