Danish Elections and Politics

[Diouf]

The second poll including the Moderates, this time from Electica for the Trade Union Alliance. Løkke's party is on 2.7%, and all 7 centre-right to right wing parties are above the threshold. Liberals also below 10% here. 94 seats/175 for the current four majority parties.

[Diouf]

Broad agreement on agricultural climate package



Tonight, the government concluded a deal on the reduction of emissions in the agricultural sector with the Liberals, DPP, SPP, Social Liberals, Red-Green Alliance, Conservatives, New Right, Liberal Alliance and the Christian Democrats. This means that only the furthest left on climate, the Alternative, is not a part of the deal. The topline goal in the deal is a reduction of carbon emissions from the agricultural sector betweeen 55-65% in 2030 compared to 1990. The parties have agreed to add 3.8 billion DKK in funding to carry through the initiatives in the deal. A significant part of the EU CAP funds will also be used to green initiatives. The funds are mainly spent on converting farmland to nature areas via afforestation and wetland creation. Additionally, there will be spent significant funds on developing new technology to reduce emissions, f.ex. in relation to fertilizer and feed. There are also funds to encourage a change to organic farming as well as the development and promotion of plant-based food.

The deal also puts forward the way for Denmark to reduce nitrogen emissions in order to fulfill the EU water framework directive. In this regard, there are concrete goals for the emissions but the farmers can choose the initiatives. If they don't make enough initiatives, government regulation will force them to via concrete rules in 2024.

[Diouf]

The Christian Democrats prefer Søren Pape as the next PM. Party leader Isabella Arendt made that announcement at their party congress this weekend.
She also criticized the Liberals for being in favour of the currently discussed paternity leave proposal, implementing an EU directive, which would earmark an additional 9 week of leave for the father (11 weeks in all), which would then disappear if the dad doesn't take it. The Christian Democrats and Conservatives left negotiations this week as they couldn't get support for their proposal to then introduce a new benefit which could be used by one parent for nine weeks, so that the total weeks of leave for the mother can stay the same as now even if the dad doesn't use any of the new earmarked weeks.
Arendt also attacked the government for being too un-ambitious in economic policy. The party proposes lower income taxes, more foreign workers, and removing the reduction in cash benefits if the receipient's partner is working (which disincentivizes the partner somewhat from taking a job).

https://www.altinget.dk/artikel/kristendemokraterne-peger-paa-pape-som-ny-borgerlig-statsminister

[Jens]

Moderaterne, the party of former PM, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, has managed to collect 20.000 signatures and are now ready to run in the next parliamentary election.
Frie Grønne is close but not there yet. If they also manage to collect the necessary signatures, it will be the election with the most parties running since the 80’s - since them is has become much harder to secure the needed signatures. 

And Frie Grønne reached the nessessary number of signatures and is ready for the next parliamentary election. Fun times. Let’s see if they will get any wind in the polls…

[Diouf]

It should be the highest number of parties since the 1987 election when 16 parties ran. Back then it was mostly radical socialists/communists who made up the numbers, and now it's radical green parties making the numbers boom. In 1987, we had the Marxist-Leninist Party, the International Socialist Workers' party, the Danish Communist Party, the Left Socialists + the Greens and the Humanists. All six ended below the threshold, with another far left party, Common Course, just hitting the 2.2% and getting into parliament.

I think the Independent Greens should have the biggest chances of the three green parties this time. Party leader Sikandar Siddique does receive some attention from time to time, and some of the most prominent right-wing MPs like to take a debate with him due to his very left-wing immigration and identity politics. A degree of attention that likely benefits both sides. I already talked about the possibility of Siddique forming a new party before the last election, but would have thought it would be more DENK-like. We will see how much in that direction it goes/is allowed to go by the other ex-Alternative figures. Come the election, I am sure they will try to put a big effort in the heavy-immigrant areas, where the Social Liberals did so well in 2019.
Uffe Elbæk also still has a big profile, but he doesn't play a big part of the party in public any more. He mostly seems focused on foreign affairs questions, particularly around China.
They should also have a good funding operation. They spent more than a million DKK on Facebook ads to collect the signatures. Some of that might be from the parliamentary funds, but Elbæk and co have traditionally been quite good at fundraising.

If there's a bit of Machiavelli in Mette Frederiksen, then perhaps she should have someone make the last remaining Alternative MP Torsten Gejl an offer he can't refuse just before she calls the next election. If he leaves the party, the Alternative is no longer eligible to run.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

The post above made me look back at some of the other immigrant parties that have been seen in Denmark in the past, and in doing so I found out that the controversial poet Yahya Hassan died last year at only 25.

[Diouf]

The government, Liberals, SPP, Social Liberals, Red-Green Alliance and the Alternative made an agreement on how to implement the EU directive on paternity leave. With the agreement, an additional nine weeks of leave is bound to each parent and cannot be transferred to the other parent. This is in addition to the current two weeks, so each parent will have 11 weeks of bound leave + 13 weeks of leave which can be transferred. The new rules does not affect self-employed persons. The deal also allows "rainbow families" to split the total leave between up to four persons.

In other news, many politicians are turning their attention towards the local and regional elections on 16 November. On the national level, much attention at the moment goes to several different high-profile legal cases. The impeachment trial against Inger Støjberg started in the beginning of September, and will last until late November. The verdict is then expected before Christmas. There are 26 judges in the case; 13 Supreme Court judges and 13 judges appointed by the parties in parliament (mostly ex-MPs and ministers or party-affiliated lawyers). My extremely biased judgement is that there is very little of substance in the case, but that probably won't keep the Supreme Court judges + the judges appointed by the left-wing parties from sentencing her. Maybe I can be positively surprised. At the same time, an investigative commission is looking into the illegal slaughter of healthy mink, where the main focus seem to be how much information about the illegality of the decision, the key ministers (including the PM) and high-rankings officials had + why the illegalities weren't stopped sooner. That commission started its work in early October and the hearings will go on until late January 2022. Then it will probably take some weeks for it to produce a report about its findings. Finally, Morten Messerschmidt's appeal case will be heard in the High Court from late December to late February after his sentencing for fraud in the Lower Court in mid-august.

[beesley]

I'm sure it has been mentioned, but I am grateful for your updates. They are always interesting.

[Diouf]

Megafon has polled the trustworthiness of party leaders for TV2/Politiken. Respondents can name up to three party leaders, whom they consider trustworthy. Pape still in a clear lead. Mette Frederiksen has dropped 8% in two months after the latest revelations in the mink scandal. This drops her to third behind Pia Olsen Dyhr. Alex Vanopslagh adds 8%, perhaps because he has been the most prominent opposition voice recently, attacking Frederiksen in the mink scandal. This has set him above the pack of the remaining party leaders. And could perhaps come just in time to help Liberal Alliance get a respectable result in the local and regional elections.

[Diouf]

The Independent Greens are now officially registrered as an eligible party. They have chosen the party letter Q. Today a Megafon poll for TV2 and Politiken was released where they were included for the first time. They polled 0.6% in a poll which, like other recent polls, only have a very narrow lead for the red parties. Løkkes' party, the Moderates, have not chosen to register yet, so they have probably planned for an event some time after the local elections, where they aren't running.

[Diouf]

DPP leader Kristian Thulelsen Dahl has reacted to the poor electoral performance by making his position available. He says he is calling a meeting with the party's executive committee, where he will propose arranging an extraordinary congress to elect a new party leader.
The question is what the executive committe will say. One member, MP Liselotte Blixt, has said that she leans toward rejecting the notion as she can't see any obvious alternatives at the moment. Will be interesting to see what the others do.

The DPP executive committee will meet on Saturday to consider his proposal.

[DavidB.]

Broad agreement on agricultural climate package



Tonight, the government concluded a deal on the reduction of emissions in the agricultural sector with the Liberals, DPP, SPP, Social Liberals, Red-Green Alliance, Conservatives, New Right, Liberal Alliance and the Christian Democrats. This means that only the furthest left on climate, the Alternative, is not a part of the deal. The topline goal in the deal is a reduction of carbon emissions from the agricultural sector betweeen 55-65% in 2030 compared to 1990. The parties have agreed to add 3.8 billion DKK in funding to carry through the initiatives in the deal. A significant part of the EU CAP funds will also be used to green initiatives. The funds are mainly spent on converting farmland to nature areas via afforestation and wetland creation. Additionally, there will be spent significant funds on developing new technology to reduce emissions, f.ex. in relation to fertilizer and feed. There are also funds to encourage a change to organic farming as well as the development and promotion of plant-based food.

The deal also puts forward the way for Denmark to reduce nitrogen emissions in order to fulfill the EU water framework directive. In this regard, there are concrete goals for the emissions but the farmers can choose the initiatives. If they don't make enough initiatives, government regulation will force them to via concrete rules in 2024.

Quite surprised by NB supporting this. What is their position on climate/agriculture issues?

[Diouf]

Broad agreement on agricultural climate package



Tonight, the government concluded a deal on the reduction of emissions in the agricultural sector with the Liberals, DPP, SPP, Social Liberals, Red-Green Alliance, Conservatives, New Right, Liberal Alliance and the Christian Democrats. This means that only the furthest left on climate, the Alternative, is not a part of the deal. The topline goal in the deal is a reduction of carbon emissions from the agricultural sector betweeen 55-65% in 2030 compared to 1990. The parties have agreed to add 3.8 billion DKK in funding to carry through the initiatives in the deal. A significant part of the EU CAP funds will also be used to green initiatives. The funds are mainly spent on converting farmland to nature areas via afforestation and wetland creation. Additionally, there will be spent significant funds on developing new technology to reduce emissions, f.ex. in relation to fertilizer and feed. There are also funds to encourage a change to organic farming as well as the development and promotion of plant-based food.

The deal also puts forward the way for Denmark to reduce nitrogen emissions in order to fulfill the EU water framework directive. In this regard, there are concrete goals for the emissions but the farmers can choose the initiatives. If they don't make enough initiatives, government regulation will force them to via concrete rules in 2024.

Quite surprised by NB supporting this. What is their position on climate/agriculture issues?

Liberals, Conservatives, DPP, Liberal Alliance and New Right had made a common policy proposal on this area. So in that way, the five parties could speak with a common voice in the negotiations and, unless any of the parties betrayed the alliance, they would either all five be a part of the deal or none of them. And the Social Democrats really didn't want to make a too aggressive law, based only on the wishes of the other Red Bloc parties.

Vermund's blog on the deal is here: https://nyeborgerlige.dk/blog/pernilles-blog/landbrugsaftale-som-landbruget-kan-leve-med/

The main argument for being in the deal is that in allows Danish farmers to make the transition towards less emissions in a mainly voluntary way (as long as they reach emission targets). She said that "If the stage had been left to the Red Bloc, 15.000 jobs would have left the country, so our food would be produced in Poland and Ukraine in lower quality and with a bigger enviromental footprint than in Denmark".

Generally, they want to take measures against climate change, but less fast than most other parties. Only them and Liberal Alliance were not a part of the majority which agreed the overall Danish 70% reduction goal in 2030. So on some of the climate deals trying to reach that goal, they haven't been a part either, e.g. on waste separation and the building of the two big windmill islands.

[Diouf]

DPP will have an extraordinary congress on 23. January with the purpose of electing a new leader.
Candidates will have to announce before 8. January.

This date means that the congress is before the end of Morten Messerschmidt's case at the High Court. I don't think you can rule out that he runs anyway, but it will make things somewhat more difficult for him. Many DPPers hope that Inger Støjberg will join the party and run for leader. This would probably give the calmest leadership election as I think a large majority in the party would support her, whether she is sentenced in the impeachment case or not. However, it's still unclear what she wants to do. I think her dream would be to be acquitted, and re-enter the Liberals in a triumphant return. But I doubt she would be allowed to do this, and so the question is whether she stays as an independent, forms her own party or seeks to join another party. We haven't really seen any indication yet.

One shouldn't rule out the chance of a Jussi Halla-aho scenario, probably with Martin Henriksen in the role as the radical challenger who wins, and which causes many in the establishment to leave the party. Perhaps too many of the more radical members have joined New Right for Henriksen to win, but the last congress showed that he certainly still has a big chunk of support. The question is whether the existence of the New Right also means that Henriksen's strategy would have less chances of success in Denmark vs the progress Halla-aho made.

Other possible candidates could be MEP Peter Kofod or financial spokesperson Rene Christensen. Some have speculated that Pia Kjærsgaard could come in as a short-term leader before handing the reins on (most likely to Messerschmidt), but to me it's one of the less likely scenarios.

[Diouf]

The proceedings in the impeachment case are now over. We will get the verdict from the judges on 13 December. If we are lucky, I guess we might get the verdict televised, but otherwise the whole charade has not been televised. So we could end up with one of the most popular/divisive/prominent politicians in the country getting a sentence of four months unconditional prison (what the prosecution wants) in a case initiated by parliament, and no voters will have been able to see a second of the way the case played out. It is only filtered out through the lenses of the journalists, who of course aren't exactly Støjberg-friendly.

There are 26 judges. 13 of them appointed by the political parties and 13 are Supreme Court justices. Since the political judges are very likely to be divided, and the Supreme Court justices very likely to be united, the case if of course de facto decided by the latter.

From most likely to least likely to find Støjberg guilty, I will put:
1 judge from Red-Green Alliance
1 judge from Social Liberals
1 judge from the SPP
13 judges from the Supreme Court
4 judges from the Social Democrats
4 judges from the Liberals
1 judge from the Conservatives
1 judge from DPP

The political judges were appointed before Støjberg left the party, so it's not just some Ellemann loyalists send there to sentence her for the Liberals. I think the Social Democrats will follow the Supreme Court judges either way, which would make the eventual victory for either side fairly clear. We don't get the votes of the individual jury members either because openness is apparently anathema in such a case.
As I've said, I think they will sentence her. My guess will be a 20-6 split in favour of a guilty sentence.

[Diouf]

Morten Messerschmidt is running as leader of DPP in a bid with MEP Peter Kofod as deputy. The extraordinary congress in DPP is on 23 January, while Messerschmidt's EU fraud case is expected to take place in the High Court from 20 December to 24 February. The schedule could change if Messerschmidt's appeal to annul the Lower Court sentence is granted due to the expressed bias of the Lower Court judge who had liked Messerschmidt-critical posts on Facebook. Then the Lower Court case would have to run again.
Running with Kofod means that the latter can run the party if Messerschmidt gets a sentence which prevents him from doing it effectively.
However, both also say that if Inger Støjberg is willing to join DPP and run as leader, they will both withdraw their candidatures.

Among their political goals, they said they want referendums on the European Convention on Human Rights as well as one on EU membership. Also they say the party should do its utmost to join a government where there is a centre-right majority (Thulelsen Dahl was often criticized for not joining the government after the brilliant 2015 election).

[Diouf]

Agreements on wind energy expansion and more housing



Today, the goverment, SPP, Social Liberals, Red-Green Alliance, Alternative and Christian Democrats announced a deal to increase the Danish wind energy capacity. Until 2030, wind energy production worth an extra 2 gigawatt energy will be established on sea. The parties also agreed to invest 200 mio DKK yearly in research on CO2 capture. The deal also includes the establishment of two natural parks in marine areas in Øresund and Little Belt as well as an additional 100 mio DKK for green development aid. With this deal, the projected Danish CO2 reduction in 2030 (compared to 1990) is 57,9%. The legally binding goal, as set in 2019, is 70%.

Some days ago, another deal was presented by the Government, DPP, SPP, Red-Green Alliance and the Christian Democrats. This deal focuses on housing, and sets off 5 billion DKK between 2022-2031 to increase the housing supply. Almost 2 billions of those funds are investment support for the non-profit housing associations. The funds can be used to purchase land that would otherwise be to expensive for the non-profit housing associations (which owns a significant part of Danish apartment buildings). Then 675 mio DKK will be spend to transform business buildings into apartments in non-profit housing, and 800 mio DKK to purchase existing private housing and turn it into non-profit housing. The parties agree to invest into building more student apartments, particularly in Copenhagen + will try to increase housing in the controversial Christiania part of Copenhagen (which I'm certain the exisiting inhabitants will end up getting stopped again). Finally, the deal invests further in research on how to build housing in the greenest way.

[Diouf]

DPP rebel re-elected to executive committee with strong support

The ex-MP Martin Henriksen was re-elected to the party's executive committee with strong support despite his recent public attacks on the moderate wing in the party. His public attacks drew criticism from most of the DPP leadership.
Henriksen received support from 272 delegates among the 636 voting at the party congress, so had support from 42,7% of the delegates. The DPP executive committee consists of 11 members, the 5 members of the parliamentary leadership, 5 members elected on the party congress and the leader of DPP Youth. 3 of the 5 members were up for election on this year's congress. Up for re-election was Martin Henriksen and his even more radical supporter Erik Høgh-Sørensen + ex-MEP Anders Vistisen from the moderate wing. Each of the 636 delegates could vote for two candidates.

Martin Henriksen became the topscorer with 272 votes, while his associate Høgh-Sørensen only received 99 votes and lost his seat. Anders Vistisen received 199 votes and also lost his seat, just two votes from getting the third seat. Instead Jens Vornøe, leader of DPP Copenhagen, and ex-MP Merete Dea Larsen won the two remaining seats.

A bit of a mixed result for DPP leader Thulesen Dahl. He is probably quite happy that Vistisen is out, since he and MEP Peter Kofod have been very ambitious and seen as those pushing the hardest for a new leadership. Vistisen even openly ran on the platform of promoting Kofod to 2nd deputy leader instead of a close Thulesen Dahl ally. Vistisen also played to the membership with an thinly veiled attack on Thulelsen Dahl and Peter Skaarup for their witness statements against Morten Messerschmidt at his court trial. But the DPP leader would probably have preferred to see Henriksen out as well. Henriksen's attack on the party line creates unrest in public, and it's hard to see him tone down his style too much after this support. Also Vornøe has actively encouraged Pia Kjærsgaard to take over the leadership of the party again to get things under control.

I think Dea Larsen was the most impressive of the speakers. Interesting to see whether she wants and can rise further in the party. She was an MP from 2015-2019 but without getting any high-profile positions and has been a local councillor for several years. She also seems like she is on fairly good terms with both wings, perhaps leaning a bit towards the radical wing.

Former leader Pia Kjærsgaard was visible enraged by Henriksen and Høgh-Sørensen's speeches. Just look at her reaction in the clip below as Henriksen attacks the current line, and warns that the party is on the road to public indifference.
https://twitter.com/hansersej/status/1439218268208869376

If the party gets the expected poor local and regional election in november, the question is whether the party will see another round of internal fighting, and perhaps movement around the leadership position.

Merete Dea Larsen certainly has the ambition to rise further in the party. She has now announced that she is running as leader!

It will be interesting to see in the coming weeks an indication of who's supporting who in the leadership battle. Also, I would expect at least one additional candidate. Rebel ex-MP Martin Henriksen said in a recent interview, that he expects to be booted out of the party if Morten Messerschmidt becomes leader. So if he wants to remain the party, he might need to run as leader himself and gain control of the party. And his stated preference is of course for a more radical approach.

[Diouf]

Budget 2022 is ready - Christian Democrats polish centrist credentials



Today the government, SPP, Social Liberals, Red-Green Alliance, Alternative and Christian Democrats presented their deal on Budget 2022. The parties have agreed on a one-off increase for the hospital sector of 1 billion DKK to alleviate the current pressures with relation to the covid situation, the lack of personnel and the aftermath of this summer's nursing strike. Additionally, there will be more funds for maternity wards. Among other things, this deals caps the maximum class size in school at 26 for young children (currently 28), it adds three additional years of free dentistry (ages 18-21), increases funding for the teacher education and increases the possibility for children to get their school start postponed by a year if they aren't cognitively and socially ready for school.
In the budget, the craftsman deduction is abolished. This allowed you to deduct payments to house improvements, particularly green ones, from your tax. The parties argue that the high activity in the building sector means that such a deduction is no longer necessary. With a similar explanation, the parties have postponed 2 billions worth of improvements of apartments buildings.

Usually, a budget is agreed with a government and its support parties, so it's a bit remarkable to see a Blue party like the Christian Democrats as a part of this deal. The tiny centrist party with only one MP has seemed quite eager to be a part of the it. The frequent appearances of party leader Isabella Arendt in the recent deals have given the party some needed attention, and it allows the party to show off its centrist credentials. And it might play a further part that everybody expects Lars Løkke to soon launch the Moderates officially. A guess on a potential launch date could be 1 Januar 2022. That would then be exactly a year since he left the Liberals, and take some of the shine from the PM's New Year's speech the same day.

[Diouf]

Inger Støjberg received an unconditional sentence of 60 days. After a bizarre impeachment trial, which could only be followed via the writings of the Støjberg-hostile media, the former Immigration Minister received an absurdly tough sentence. I thought it would be a 20-6 majority for a sentence as the Liberal + Conservative judges were appointed before the two parties turned their backs on her, but it ended with a 25-1 sentence as the Liberals and Conservative judges followed the lead of their MPs who had voted to impeach her. So the outcome mirrored the impeachment vote in parliament with only DPP voting against (New Right + Lars Løkke weren't represented among the judges).

Now the same majority will vote to revoke her status as a MP, finalizing the deep state's charade. The first alternate for her is Gitte Willumsen, who ran as a Liberal in 2019, but has since changed to the Conservatives.

Now we await to see what she decides in relation to her future in politics. In the short term, there's soon a leadership election in DPP, so we will see whether she will want to involve her in that in any regard. I'm quite certain this sentence hasn't moved the needle much for DPP electors, but I'm less certain whether Støjberg wants to throw herself into the mix. Thulelsen Dahl just said that she could of course still become a good DPP leader.

[Jens]

Inger Støjberg received an unconditional sentence of 60 days. After a bizarre impeachment trial, which could only be followed via the writings of the Støjberg-hostile media, the former Immigration Minister received an absurdly tough sentence. I thought it would be a 20-6 majority for a sentence as the Liberal + Conservative judges were appointed before the two parties turned their backs on her, but it ended with a 25-1 sentence as the Liberals and Conservative judges followed the lead of their MPs who had voted to impeach her. So the outcome mirrored the impeachment vote in parliament with only DPP voting against (New Right + Lars Løkke weren't represented among the judges).

Now the same majority will vote to revoke her status as a MP, finalizing the deep state's charade. The first alternate for her is Gitte Willumsen, who ran as a Liberal in 2019, but has since changed to the Conservatives.

Now we await to see what she decides in relation to her future in politics. In the short term, there's soon a leadership election in DPP, so we will see whether she will want to involve her in that in any regard. I'm quite certain this sentence hasn't moved the needle much for DPP electors, but I'm less certain whether Støjberg wants to throw herself into the mix. Thulelsen Dahl just said that she could of course still become a good DPP leader.

Unsurprisingly I (and just everybody not voting DF or NB) don't agree with Diouf's take on this.
Støjberg was convicted for setting aside existing legislation and all the juridical judges (the full Supreme Court) agreed on her being guilding of ignoring Ministeransvarsloven (the law defining the limitations and responsibilities of ministers of the state). Only the civil judge from Dansk Folkeparti voted against. That is massive and a clear signal that Støjberg vent too far trying to separate underage married refugees.
The sentence is harsh, and some of the juridical judges didn’t support a prison sentence – but Støjberg insisting on she did noting wrong, in some way forced the court’s hand.
There is absolutely no “Deep State” in this. That is nothing but a conspiracy myth!
The wild thing is that Støjberg could have avoided all this if she had just admitted that she did something, she wasn’t allowed to do and accepted the “nose” from parliament and probably resigned as Minister for Integration (just to return later, like former PM Anders Fogh did, when he was caught being naughy as Minister of Taxation)

[ingemann]

Inger Støjberg received an unconditional sentence of 60 days. After a bizarre impeachment trial, which could only be followed via the writings of the Støjberg-hostile media, the former Immigration Minister received an absurdly tough sentence. I thought it would be a 20-6 majority for a sentence as the Liberal + Conservative judges were appointed before the two parties turned their backs on her, but it ended with a 25-1 sentence as the Liberals and Conservative judges followed the lead of their MPs who had voted to impeach her. So the outcome mirrored the impeachment vote in parliament with only DPP voting against (New Right + Lars Løkke weren't represented among the judges).

Now the same majority will vote to revoke her status as a MP, finalizing the deep state's charade. The first alternate for her is Gitte Willumsen, who ran as a Liberal in 2019, but has since changed to the Conservatives.

Now we await to see what she decides in relation to her future in politics. In the short term, there's soon a leadership election in DPP, so we will see whether she will want to involve her in that in any regard. I'm quite certain this sentence hasn't moved the needle much for DPP electors, but I'm less certain whether Støjberg wants to throw herself into the mix. Thulelsen Dahl just said that she could of course still become a good DPP leader.

Unsurprisingly I (and just everybody not voting DF or NB) don't agree with Diouf's take on this.
Støjberg was convicted for setting aside existing legislation and all the juridical judges (the full Supreme Court) agreed on her being guilding of ignoring Ministeransvarsloven (the law defining the limitations and responsibilities of ministers of the state). Only the civil judge from Dansk Folkeparti voted against. That is massive and a clear signal that Støjberg vent too far trying to separate underage married refugees.
The sentence is harsh, and some of the juridical judges didn’t support a prison sentence – but Støjberg insisting on she did noting wrong, in some way forced the court’s hand.
There is absolutely no “Deep State” in this. That is nothing but a conspiracy myth!
The wild thing is that Støjberg could have avoided all this if she had just admitted that she did something, she wasn’t allowed to do and accepted the “nose” from parliament and probably resigned as Minister for Integration (just to return later, like former PM Anders Fogh did, when he was caught being naughy as Minister of Taxation)

Interesting Leif Donbæk Thomsen, a expect in impeachment court, told in the Podcast “Udestuen” before the conviction that while he wouldn’t talk about whether Støjberg was guilty or not, if she was found guilty he would expect her to get a sentence like this.

I also agree that this impeachment wouldn’t have happened if Støjberg hadn’t provoked RFØ. The fact that she changed explanation several times and then suddenly found the note pretty much ensured this. I also found it rather clear from early on that she would be found guilty, when the civil servants didn’t back her up.

[Diouf]

Rebel leader runs for DPP top job

As expected, ex-MP Martin Henriksen has decided to run for leader in the crisis-ridden party. Henriksen has been a proponent of the party turning right, and in his own words, "becoming a protest party again". He has been in constant conflict with party leadership in recent months, with his public statements against party policy plus his equally public attacks on other prominent politicians in the party. In the recent congress, he was in a obvious conflict with former leader Pia Kjærsgaard, but still ended up the highest vote getter in the election to the Executive Committee.
His behaviour has seen him sanctioned a couple of times, so it could be that he either becomes leader or quickly ends up thrown out of the party.

A week ago, I had some short doubt whether he would run or not as his ally Erik Høgh-Sørensen announced his candidature. He has been a loyal ally to Henriksen, but with a much more aggressive, unlikeable personal style. He lost his executive committee seat with a bang at the previous congress. When I saw him running, I wondered whether Henriksen would really refrain from running, but now it seems certain that it was just a pure vanity move from Høgh-Sørensen.

So the battle should be between Henriksen, Messerschmidt (+Kofod) and Dea Larsen. Henriksen certainly has the backing of a good part of the membership, but probably not many others in the leadership. Messerschmidt has for some time been Kjærsgaard's protege, and with Kofod as deputy/potential replacement, they should also have support of the moderate Kofod/Vistisen/DPP Youth leadership wing. If we see no more candidates, I will assume that Dea Larsen is the preferred candidate of the current leader Thulelsen Dahl and those around him. Her message seems to be that of unity, and if Messerschmidt and Henriksen tear each others' head of, it certainly shouldn't be ruled out that she could end up as leader. Particularly if Thulelsen Dahl more or less openly throws his support behind her.

Thulelsen Dahl will probably prefer Støjberg to join and become party leader, as that seems the most certain bet on someone who could make the party rise again and thereby secure it's survival. Also she could equally be a unity candidate as she is adored by most of the party, and untainted by current and previous internal battles. However, she has yet to make any comment about her political future, and it's probably looking less and less likely. Recently, i have seen two pieces, one from the editor of her home area newspaper and one from an ex-Conservative strategist, whom both says that the most likely it that she will form her own party/list. I don't know whether they have any actual sources, or if's just a coincidence, but it's one I really hope to be true. Her task would then probably be the reverse of Løkke's; unlike him she won't have much funding from rich donors and companies, but she will probably have a bigger group of enthusiastic activists.

[xelas81]

Rebel leader runs for DPP top job


 Messerschmidt has for some time been Kjærsgaard's protege, and with Kofod as deputy/potential replacement, they should also have support of the moderate Kofod/Vistisen/DPP Youth leadership wing.

Young wing being more moderate is surprising.
Is there any discussion of cooperation/merger with New Right or do two parties target different voters?

[Diouf]

Rebel leader runs for DPP top job


 Messerschmidt has for some time been Kjærsgaard's protege, and with Kofod as deputy/potential replacement, they should also have support of the moderate Kofod/Vistisen/DPP Youth leadership wing.

Young wing being more moderate is surprising.
Is there any discussion of cooperation/merger with New Right or do two parties target different voters?

One hypothesis is that the leading youth politicians like to think more ideologically, and this current leadership of DPP Youth is following an anglo-saxon nationalconservative line of thought. This line is perhaps less likely to compromise on general freedom principles and would like to look more consistent in its ideas, while the radical wing in the party currently is usually more of the "common man just saying things like I see them" style. And this is of course mostly in relation to immigration, which defines the party. On economy, it seems like at least some in the radical wing can easier live with a fairly populist left-wing appeal than those nationalconservatives who would more naturally align with the other Blue Bloc parties.

DPP Youth btw just played the main part in a news story that broke an hour ago. As leading members of the Youth organization has made a "meme video" which attacks the leadership candidates, apart from Messerschmidt + Kofod, which have been distributed widely internally.
It's based on the common template of a Spanish-speaking guy without teeth laughing his way through an interview. In this template, this guy is then presented as Thulelsen Dahl speaking. About Merete Dea Larsen, it says "She is so naive that she thinks she is about to be the new number 1 in the party. While she thinks she will get power in the party, I will stand behind her, pulling the strings, making the marionette dance." It also says her dad was exluded from the party years ago for wanting to bring nazies into the party, and that now he's living handily from all the posts her daughter got him through her position as local councillor. It similarly says that she will probably have to drag the "idiot" Martin Henriksen alongside her, and that Thulelsen Dahl can then easily keep on controlling the party, no change, with these two "morons" in power. It says Henriksen's main attempt to create an edge to the other parties, was to propose Danes could carry arms, and says one could then soon expect a book from him and Høgh-Sørensen on how to create your own bombs. Finally, the video also attacks Thulelsen Dahl himself from taking all the posts he can get to grab as much cash as possible.

https://ekstrabladet.dk/nyheder/politik/danskpolitik/intern-video-afsloerer-beskidt-borgerkrig/9048590

And no, no discussion of a merger with the New Right at all. They are still a new party, and there is a fair deal of animosity between them. Many DPPers see it as unfair how fast the New Right has risen and taken many of their supporters. While DPP has been fighting the cause for years, then suddenly a bunch of former Conservatives and LAs create a new party, attacking DPP for not doing enough on immigration and succeeding with it. For sure, their immigration focus means that there is a common pool of voters, they are fishing in. But they also vary in their broader appeals. And it's best, DPP can appeal to many Social Democrats and Liberal voters with their welfare-happy economic policies and tough immigration policies, while New Right is more able to attract from the economic right wing of Conservatives, Liberals and LA.