Political pressure is mounting on the Danish Prime Minister due to soaring food prices, amid criticism from opposition parties and economic analysts.
According to BT, the rapid rise in food prices in Denmark has become a highly sensitive political issue for Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, leader of the Social Democratic Party (S). Read more after the announcement.
Economist Peter Mogensen, CEO of the consulting firm Kraka and a well-known political commentator, described the situation in the latest episode of the TV 2 News program Tirsdagsanalysen as "politically dangerous for Frederiksen's life," noting that rising prices are seriously threatening her popularity.
Mogensen said, “This issue poses a fatal threat to the Prime Minister. Politician Morten Messerschmidt of the Danish People’s Party (DF) is touching on what people are actually feeling in their homes; these prices have become a matter that affects their daily lives, and this is perfectly understandable.”.
During Tuesday’s question time in parliament, the issue of rising food prices dominated the debate from all political sides, as predicted by BT political analyst Henrik Qvortrup before the session.
Pia Olsen Dyhr, leader of the Socialist People’s Party (SF), Pelle Dragsted of the Unity Party (EL), and especially Messerschmitt, directed a series of sharp questions to the Prime Minister about the “explosion” in prices, demanding concrete measures to reduce the burden on Danish families.
During the debate, Dior focused on the suffering of ordinary families from the sharp rise in prices, while both Dragsted and Messerschmitt demanded an explanation as to why the value-added tax (VAT) on food items was not reduced to alleviate the financial pressure on citizens.
Frederiksen responded that the SVM tripartite government (comprising the Social Democratic Party, the Venstre Party, and the Moderate Party) is already considering the possibility of developing a new technical system that would allow for the application of a differential value-added tax.
The Prime Minister added that her government had also introduced sweeping tax cuts that would provide citizens with more money than would have been saved by abolishing value-added tax on food items.
However, Frederiksen acknowledged during the session that “the significant rise in prices of many food items means that citizens are not actually feeling the impact of these tax cuts,” adding, “Food prices have become extremely troubling. Although we have taken a lot of policy measures, the price increases in stores are effectively undermining what we have achieved politically,” according to BT.
It is worth noting that these developments come at a time when Denmark is experiencing a significant price surge, prompting several analysts to warn of its political and social repercussions, particularly on the government, which is facing increasing pressure from the opposition and public opinion as municipal elections approach in less than a month and parliamentary elections in about a year at the latest. .
