On the same day as the deadline for making up her mind was to expire, Mette Frederiksen meets the press in Marienborg. She announces that there will be new elections in Denmark. One of the parties supporting the government, Radikale Venstre, has warned that Frederiksen would receive a motion of no confidence against him if this did not happen within three months. The deadline actually expired yesterday, but was extended by the same party until today. By all accounts, Frederiksen’s government wanted something like this. Today she chose instead to try the lock with the people. The Danish Prime Minister will arrive at the Danish Parliament on Wednesday morning. Photo: LISELOTTE SABROE / AFP The radical left has called a press conference later today, probably to point out its candidate for prime minister. The Liberal and Conservative parties have also done so. – Now it is time to ask the voters if they think they can afford four more years with Mette Frederiksen. We don’t think Denmark has that, says chairman of Venstre, Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, to Danmarks Radio. Got a “nose” but stayed put The background for the new election is the so-called mink scandal, where Denmark killed more than 15 million mink after a mutated corona variant spread among the animals. A commission has concluded that the prime minister wanted to lie to the people when the slaughter was carried out, but the government remained in place. This was, among other things, due to the support from the Radical Left. The party believes that Frederiksen is claiming political responsibility for the scandal, even if she cannot be held legally responsible. They hope that a new election will provide the basis for a new government that does not only consist of Social Democracy. Frederiksen only got what the Danes call a “nose”. This means that she received criticism, but that it had no consequences for her. However, it did so for ten civil servants. They received everything from a scratch and reprimand to being sent home from work, wrote Danmarks Radio in an earlier case. Had to choose between truverd and seats in the Folketing When the Radikale Venstre came up with this demand three months ago, the Social Democracy stood up well in the opinion polls, says Anders Byskov Svendsen, who is a political journalist at Danmarks Radio. – It was seen as kicking in an open door, that Radikale Venstre did it here. But the radical leader wanted to do it because she was exposed to pressure from her own party members. These wanted there to be consequences for the government as a result of the mink report. Nevertheless, the election may appear to cost the challenging party dearly, he believes. Leader of the Radical Left in Denmark, Sofie Carsten Nielsen. Photo: PHILIP DAVALI / AFP At the beginning of August, Frederiksen and her party Socialdemocratiet received 22.9 percent support. It was the lowest since March 2015. Radikale Venstre thus had the choice between losing credibility by withdrawing the demand for new elections or losing seats in the Folketing, says Byskov Svendsen further. – Even if the radicals stand to lose some mandates in the Folketing, they will still be able to get some mandates. – Mette Frederiksen depends on these to be able to continue as prime minister. Coming in defiance of several crises The attack on the gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea made Radikale Venstre go an extra round in its demand for new elections. They nevertheless agreed to stand their ground. The party rejects that it is irresponsible to throw Danish politicians into an election campaign in the middle of a crisis situation – Those crises are not over in two, four, six or eight months. We don’t need an eight-month election campaign. We need to come out on the other side, meet, and solve the problem together, says party leader in Radikale Venstre, Sofie Carsten Nielsen, to the Danish broadcaster. Satellite image of one of the leaks from Nord Stream 1. Photo: – / AFP These crises were also the topic when Frederiksen opened the Parliament on Tuesday. She said that the last three years as prime minister had been completely different than anyone could have imagined. As examples of this, she highlighted the corona pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis. Frederiksen also said that many of the last decisions that were made in the National Assembly were the result of the party cooperating across the blocs. When asked if she was going to call for new elections, Frederiksen answered several times: – I don’t think it will come close.
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