Cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt is the current cabinet of Sweden. It is a majority government consisting of the four parties in the centre-right Alliance for Sweden: the Moderate Party (Moderata samlingspartiet), the Centre Party (Centerpartiet), the Liberal People's Party (Folkpartiet liberalerna) and the Christian Democrats (Kristdemokraterna). The cabinet took office on October 6, 2006, following the 2006 general election which ousted the Social Democrats from twelve years in power.
Contents |
[edit] Ministers and Ministries
[edit] Cabinet
[edit] Party composition
| (m) | (c) | (fp) | (kd) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
[edit] Facts and statistics
- Gender balance: 9 women and 13 men.
- First Swedish Minister of African descent: Nyamko Sabuni.
- First Swedish openly homosexual Minister: Andreas Carlgren.
- First Swedish openly bisexual Minister: Tobias Billström.
- Youngest Swedish Prime Minister in 80 years: Fredrik Reinfeldt.
[edit] New Ministries
- Ministry of Employment, belonged to the Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications in the cabinet of Göran Persson.
- Ministry of Culture, belonged to the Ministry of Education and Culture in the cabinet of Göran Persson.
- Ministry of Environment was before called the Ministry of Sustainable Development.
- Ministry for Integration and Equality, belonged to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Göran Persson.
[edit] Policy of the cabinet
[edit] 2006
The new government was presented on October 16, 2006. The following reforms have been proposed:
- Communication and transportation:
- The tax on automotive fuels will be raised, by 9 öre per litre for gasoline and 6 öre per litre for diesel (excluding VAT).<ref name=N24>Tyngre börda för bilismen, Näringsliv24, October 20, 2006 (Swedish)</ref>
- Culture:
- The new government plans to reintroduce entrance fees to the country's 21 state-operated museums.<ref>Free museum entry to be abolished (English), The Local, October 11, 2006.</ref>
- Third-party liability premiums for vehicle insurance will be raised.<ref name=N24/>
- The current operator's license for the public service broadcasters Sveriges Television, Sveriges Radio and Sveriges Utbildningsradio will come up for renegotiation in three years, instead of six as negotiated with the outgoing government.<ref>Sändningstillstånd kan bli kortare för public service (English), The Local, October 11, 2006.</ref>
- Education:
- The reform of the secondary education (gymnasium) which was to take effect from January 1, 2007 will be scrapped and instead the new government will start planning for a deeper reform to take place some time before 2010.<ref>Regeringen stoppar gymnasiereform, Upsala Nya Tidning, October 11, 2006 (Swedish)</ref>
- Government agencies:
- The following government agencies will be closed down: Swedish Integration Board (Swedish: Integrationsverket), National Institute for Working Life (Swedish: Arbetslivsinstitutet), Swedish Animal Welfare Agency (Swedish: Djurskyddsmyndigheten) and the County Labour Boards (Swedish: länsarbetsnämnderna).<ref>Fler myndighetsnedläggningar utreds, Svenska Dagbladet, October 23, 2006 (Swedish)</ref>
- All agencies are being scrutinized for reformation.
- The director general, presidents and leaders are not to be employed by party association and instead by based competence.
- Foreign aid:
- The monetary foreign aid's goal and what countries receiving aid is being reconsider.
[edit] Controversies and public perception
[edit] Nanny controversies
On October 7, 2006, the day after the new cabinet was announced two of the ministers, Maria Borelius and Cecilia Stegö Chilò, admitted that they had previously employed persons to take care of their children without paying the appropriate taxes. Neither of them face any criminal and administrative punishment since the events took place more than five years ago, outside of the statute of limitations. Today Borelius and her husband employ a nanny for which they pay the appropriate taxes, while Stegö Chilò does not have any domestic help.<ref name=thelocal>Ministers admit nanny tax dodges (English), The Local, October 7, 2006.</ref> Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has stated that he has tolerated these issues, and that he values openness on the part of his ministers.<ref name=DN>Svart hemhjälp känd av Reinfeldt (Swedish), Dagens Nyheter, October 7, 2006.</ref> <ref>Minister who skipped nanny's tax 'earned millions' (English), The Local, October 10, 2006.</ref>
Several of the ministers in the new cabinet pay for domestic help, including Carl Bildt, Cecilia Malmström, Cristina Husmark Pehrsson and Sven Otto Littorin, whom all have given assurances that they follow the employment and tax laws.<ref name=thelocal/> The issue of tax breaks for domestic services is a politicialy divisive issue in Sweden.<ref>One in four would pay for a cleaner (English), The Local, October 3, 2006.</ref>
[edit] TV license controversy
On October 11, 2006 it came to light that Cecilia Stegö Chilò and her husband had not paid their TV license for the last 16 years, which is a criminal offence. As Minister for Culture Stegö Chilò's responsibilities include oversight of the Swedish public service corporations.<ref>New culture minister skipped TV licence fee (English), The Local, October 11, 2006.</ref> On October 12, 2006 it emerged that two other ministers in the cabinet had neglected to pay the television license; Maria Borelius and Tobias Billström.<ref>Ministers could be reported to police over TV fee (English), The Local, October 12, 2006.</ref> Radiotjänst i Kiruna AB, the private agency tasked with collecting the license fee, filed criminal charges against Cecilia Stegö Chilò, Maria Borelius and Tobial Billström.<ref>Ministers reported to police for unpaid TV licences (English), The Local, October 13, 2006.</ref>
[edit] Other controversies
- Maria Borelius:
- She has admitted driving under the influence of alcohol in 1988.<ref name=DN/>
- Borelius is also being investigated by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority for financial irregularities concerning the sale of shares in the company Active Biotech where Borelius also is a member of the board. Under Swedish law such a transaction must be reported within five days, but Borelius, who made the transaction in September of 2006, failed to do so.<ref name=thelocal>Pressure grows on Swedish trade minister (English), The Local, October 13, 2006.</ref>
- It has also been revealed that Borelius and her husband Greger Larsson own a vacation home in the southern city of Falsterbo which is officially registered as being owned by Full Moon Investments Limited, a company registered in the tax haven of Jersey. An official at the Swedish Tax Board has stated that such a setup could be a way for the couple to conceal ownership in order to avoid paying wealth tax.<ref name=thelocal/> The couple also own an apartment i Cannes, France with a similar arrangement. The apartement in France is registered to Soleil Investment Limited.<ref> Lyxbostad nummer 3 (Swedish), Aftonbladet, October 14, 2006.</ref>
- Borelius was together with Annie Wegelius involved in K-world, a failed attempt at starting a e-learning television channel which ended with a bankruptcy and a debt of 700 million kronor.<ref>K-world kostade ägarna 700 Mkr (Swedish), Dagens Industri, May 3, 2002.</ref> Two other companies, Mammut Television and Maria Borelius AB have also been near bankruptcy.<ref>Borelius bolag var konkursmässigt (Swedish), Aftonbladet, October 13, 2006.</ref>
- Tobias Billström has admitted using the credit card issued to him by the parliament for his personal expenses on two occasions. Although he had reimbursed the parliament for these expenses he felt compelled to reveal this because it was wrong in principle.<ref name=DN/>
- Andreas Carlgren admitted to have received 130,000 kronor too much from the parliamentary income guarantee. In 1998, when Carlgren was forced to leave the parliament he received compensation despite having other sources of income, which are to be deducted from the parliamentary compensation. Carlgren claims to have rectified the mistake on his own, while others in his party claim that this was done only after the mistake had been pointed out to him.<ref>Minister admits false income details (English), The Local, October 12, 2006.</ref>
- Sven Otto Littorin has admitted to having tried hashish on one occasion, while Anders Borg has admitted to having tried marijuana. Littorin stated that he did not enjoy it and that he does not recommend doing it either, since it can be a gateway drug.<ref>Littorin: Jag rökte hasch på semestern (Swedish), Aftonbladet, October 12, 2006.</ref>
[edit] Resignations
- On October 14, 2006 Minister for Foreign Trade Maria Borelius tendered her resignation to Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.<ref>Borelius resigns (English), The Local, October 14, 2006.</ref>
- On October 16, 2006, just two days after Maria Borelius resignation, Minister for Culture Cecilia Stegö Chilò resigned as well.<ref>Second Swedish minister resigns (English), The Local, October 16, 2006.</ref> The timing of Stegö Chilò's resignation was controversial, as she made it public just two hours before the new minister for finance Anders Borg presented his first budget.<ref>Krisen blottar sprickan inom moderaterna (Swedish), Dagens Nyheter, October 17, 2006.</ref>
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] External links
- The Government and the Government Offices of Sweden
- Statement of Government Policy (6 October 2006)
- BBC: Second Swedish minister resigns
| Preceded by: Cabinet of Göran Persson | Cabinet of Sweden 2006 – present | Incumbent |
