Danish PM announces major cabinet reshuffle

Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt reshuffled her cabinet on Monday after the Socialist People's Party left the coalition government over an internal dispute. The reshuffle will see changes to half of the cabinet seats, six of which were previously held by the Socialist People's Party, including the foreign and tax ministers. Martin Lidegaard, the incumbent climate and energy minister, will take over as foreign minister. Also moving into the Foreign Ministry will be Mogens Jensen, who will serve as trade and development minister, a position that combines portfolios that were previously held by two cabinet members. Moving in at the Climate and Energy Ministry will be Rasmus Helveg Petersen, who was serving in the Foreign Ministry as development minister. The Social Democratic prime minister has replaced members of her cabinet for the third time since last November and the fifth time since coming into office in September 2011. The Socialist People's Party quit the government Thursday due to disagreements within the three-party coalition over the decision to sell a stake of the state-owned power company DONG Energy to U.S.-based investment bank Goldman Sachs. The move leaves the government with a minority 61 seats in the 179-member Folketing, or Danish parliament. Despite withdrawing from the government, the Socialist People's Party has announced that it will continue to support Thorning-Schmidt's government.