Minister For Finance
Following the victory in the 2006 general election, Borg was appointed Minister for Finance in the new centre-right cabinet led by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, that assumed office on 6 October 2006.
Borg has been recognised as the mastermind behind the new Swedish government's economic doctrine, focusing on proactive measures against unemployment. An incremental dismantling of the social democratic welfare state, with larger self-financing of welfare systems, lower taxes and fewer benefits are seen as the way to create new motivation to work and more business opportunites and creation of jobs. He developed these new policies in his role as chief economist in the Moderate Party.
On 5 September 2007, Minister for Defence Mikael Odenberg resigned from the cabinet due to disagreement with Borg regarding funds for the Swedish Armed Forces.
On 29 November 2008, Borg, in an interview on Swedish TV4, criticized US President-elect Barack Obama's economic agenda calling it "untenable".
Although his policies have been described as economically liberal, Borg has a different view. "One can probably call me a quite pragmatic politician. For me, the highest priority is to make sure that we have sound public finances."
Read more about this topic: Anders Borg
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