A CDO with a mission! Up to proof for the government's digitalization policy.

Atlas was given the task of carrying the sky on his shoulders, a poetic paraphrase of the principle that mountains carry the sky. I am reminded of this when I read that the Minister for Digitalization, Peter Eriksson, has now appointed Åsa Zetterberg to support him in coordinating the implementation of the government's digitalization strategy, across different policy areas and among many actors.

Let me first say that we think the appointment of Åsa Zetterberg is a good one. Åsa is a wise person with the right experience to take on the heavy role of the government's Chief Digital Officer.

But let us not ignore the fact that it is nevertheless a delicate task on her shoulders. Success will require the courage to aim for the sky and the muscle to break down silos and get many and varied institutions, agencies and officials to work together. This in turn requires a very clear mandate, which I sincerely hope that the Minister for Digitization has truly assigned to her new - and Sweden's first of its kind - CDO.

Because unless the whole government works together on this transformative societal project, digitization will remain too close to the margins, which we cannot afford.

With that said, our main message is first and foremost: congratulations to Åsa Zetterberg and to the government for a good decision! Naturally, I and IT&Telecomföretagen hope that we will continue to have the opportunity to work very closely with you on these issues that are so important to us all.