Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen dropped a political bombshell on Constitution Day, according to political analysts, by announcing her openness to the idea of forming a multi-party government, including the Blue Bloc (opposition) parties, after the upcoming parliamentary elections, which are supposed to take place before June 3, 2023 at the latest.
Several political parties have already begun discussing the upcoming elections in their statements to the media and in their social media posts, which suggests that the parties have already started preparing for their election campaigns. Denmark is also witnessing political speeches throughout the day today on the occasion of Constitution Day.
The element of surprise in Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s statement about a multi-party government, including opposition parties, comes from the fact that she formed what is called a one-party government when her Social Democratic Party won the parliamentary elections three years ago. Frederiksen limited the distribution of ministerial portfolios to members of the same party. In 2019, when then-Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen proposed – before the parliamentary elections – the formation of a multi-party government, Mette Frederiksen categorically rejected the idea and was interested in a one-party government, which she got.
The parliamentary parties' reception of Frederiksen's statements varied between welcoming and otherwise. For example, the leader of the largest opposition party, the Venstre Liberal Party, Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, commented this morning that the message was interesting, but he "does not think that Mette Frederiksen means it," adding that if she wants broad cooperation, she should demonstrate it.
Conservative Party leader Søren Pape Poulsen also commented with a clear message of “Thank you, but no, thank you.” Poulsen reiterated the Liberal Party’s claim that the call was related to the mink issue – which concerns the legality of Mette Frederiksen’s decision to kill all mink in Denmark during the coronavirus crisis – as the Mink Commission is expected to deliver its report later this month. He described it as “intelligent” to make the announcement it issued today.
Among the supporters and enthusiasts of Frederiksen's declaration are the pro-government Radical Party, whose leader, Sophie Carsten Nielsen, indicated that they in the Radical Party had requested this themselves since November.
(Source: Miscellaneous articles from DR and TV2)
