Too blog or not to blog ...

It looks like Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt is in trouble for posting his thoughts on his Swedish-language blog. Bildt had also previously blogged in English using a blogger account. One Estonia-centered post from last year read the following:

It is of course profoundly good news that Toomas Ilves has been elected as the new President of Estonia.

At last there is a worthy successor to Lennart Meri. And a person that can proudly project the success of Estonia and the other Baltic states on the wider world stage.

Of course, Bildt was a private citizen at the time when he openly praised Ilves. As a foreign minister, perhaps he would have been morereserved when discussing his views on Estonia's presidential elections.

According to the above link, Bildt now faces questions from the Swedish public about whether it is correct or not for a government official to blog. In fending off his critics, he noted that government officials in Finland and Estonia, like Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, are prolific bloggers.

I wonder what is at the root of this criticism. Is it that we would rather our government officials always meet behind close doors and leave us guessing what's on their minds? Does the media enjoy the guessing game rather than having raw, unfiltered information? Or is this really not appropriate for a foreign minister? Bildt is supposed to represent all Swedes in foreign affairs. is he indulging himself at their expense by becoming a blogger. What do you think?

Anyway, his blog is very popular. It receives about 400,000 visits per week. Not bad for a 57-year-old Stockholmmer rambling on about weather and world affairs.