Denmark will elect a new parliament this year. After several weeks of speculation, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced on Wednesday outside her official residence in Marienborg, north of Copenhagen, that the next elections will take place on November 1. With that, she finally bowed to a demand from the left-liberal Radikale Venstre party, which is related to the mink scandal in the Corona crisis.
In Denmark, elections are to be held every four years – in which case Frederiksen would have until June 4, 2023. The Radikale Venstre, which supports Frederiksen’s minority government consisting only of Social Democrats, gave the Prime Minister an ultimatum in the summer stated : until the opening of parliament on Tuesday after the summer holidays, the prime minister should have called the elections. Otherwise, the party wanted to force a vote of no confidence.
Millions of minks culled because of Corona
The background of the ultimatum is Frederiksen’s role in the Danish mink scandal, in which millions of minks were killed during the corona pandemic. Only later did it become apparent that the legal basis for this was lacking. In a report, an independent commission sharply criticized the prime minister and parts of her government, who had taken the decision to massively cull minks bred for fur production due to corona concerns.
In July, Frederiksen was reprimanded by parliament for the controversial mass murder. This symbolic act without consequences was pronounced by her Social Democrats and their allies in parliament. In addition, it has been decided not to initiate criminal proceedings. In September, the six opposition parties called for new elections in an open letter.
Measure without legal basis
In November 2020, the Danish government ordered the killing of all approximately 15 million farmed minks in the country. This was to prevent the spread of a mutated and human-transmitted form of SARS-CoV-2, which was feared could affect the effectiveness of future vaccines. But, as it turned out, there was no legal basis for the measure. This only came about afterwards.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
