'Mette Frederiksen has changed': Danish left-wing parties exit government talks
Talks to form a new Danish government appeared to enter a new phase on Wednesday with left-wing parties informed they are no longer part of negotiations.
The left-wing Red Green Alliance (Enhedslisten) party was present at the prime minister’s offices on Wednesday to discuss climate, environment and green transition policies.
But its lead political spokesperson Mai Villadsen subsequently said she had been informed by acting Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen that the Red Green Alliance was no longer part of the ongoing negotiations.
The Social Democrats intend to form a government with parties from the conservative ‘blue bloc’, Villadsen said.
“Mette Frederiksen has turned her back on the red-green majority,” she tweeted, referring to the one-seat majority gained by the ‘red bloc’ of left-wing and environmentalist parties in the November 1st election.
Frederiksen has “unambiguously chosen the right wing,” Villadsen added.
“A glaring mistake and a new right-leaning Social Democratic party we are now seeing,” she wrote.
Mette Frederiksen har vendt ryggen til det rød-grønne flertal. Hun har i dag meddelt os, at vi er ude af regeringsforhandlingerne - fordi hun nu entydigt har valgt højrefløjen til. En eklatant fejl, og et nyt højredrejet Socialdemokrati vi nu ser. #dkpol
— Mai Villadsen (@MaiVilladsen) November 23, 2022
The Red Green Alliance was one of three left-wing or centre-left parties which propped up Frederiksen’s minority Social Democratic government from its election in 2019 until the election earlier this month.
The other two parties, the Socialist People’s Party (SF) and the Social Liberals (Radikale Venstre) remain part of negotiations.
The environmentalist Alternative party, another member of the red bloc, has also been ejected from the talks, its leader Franciska Rosenkilde told broadcaster TV2.
The far-right Nye Borgerlige party was also reported to have left the talks on Wednesday but the libertarian Liberal Alliance and national conservative Danish People’s Party remain involved, as do fellow ‘blue bloc’ parties the Conservatives and Liberals.
The Liberal (Venstre) party, the largest in the ‘blue bloc’ conservative group, ruled out governing with Frederiksen prior to the election, but has since moved to a more open stance.
Suggestions the Liberals may be prepared to enter government with the Social Democrats gained momentum following a Liberal party national conference last weekend.
“Confidence [in Frederiksen] is at a very low point when she chooses the blue bloc over the red-green majority,” Villadsen told news wire Ritzau.
She also argued that Frederiksen’s politics have changed.
“This is a new Mette Frederiksen and a very different one to the one who emerged as a left winger in the Social Democrats, who wanted to invest in welfare, and who we have had a good working relationship with in many areas,” she said.
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The left-wing Red Green Alliance (Enhedslisten) party was present at the prime minister’s offices on Wednesday to discuss climate, environment and green transition policies.
But its lead political spokesperson Mai Villadsen subsequently said she had been informed by acting Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen that the Red Green Alliance was no longer part of the ongoing negotiations.
The Social Democrats intend to form a government with parties from the conservative ‘blue bloc’, Villadsen said.
“Mette Frederiksen has turned her back on the red-green majority,” she tweeted, referring to the one-seat majority gained by the ‘red bloc’ of left-wing and environmentalist parties in the November 1st election.
Frederiksen has “unambiguously chosen the right wing,” Villadsen added.
“A glaring mistake and a new right-leaning Social Democratic party we are now seeing,” she wrote.
Mette Frederiksen har vendt ryggen til det rød-grønne flertal. Hun har i dag meddelt os, at vi er ude af regeringsforhandlingerne - fordi hun nu entydigt har valgt højrefløjen til. En eklatant fejl, og et nyt højredrejet Socialdemokrati vi nu ser. #dkpol
— Mai Villadsen (@MaiVilladsen) November 23, 2022
The Red Green Alliance was one of three left-wing or centre-left parties which propped up Frederiksen’s minority Social Democratic government from its election in 2019 until the election earlier this month.
The other two parties, the Socialist People’s Party (SF) and the Social Liberals (Radikale Venstre) remain part of negotiations.
The environmentalist Alternative party, another member of the red bloc, has also been ejected from the talks, its leader Franciska Rosenkilde told broadcaster TV2.
The far-right Nye Borgerlige party was also reported to have left the talks on Wednesday but the libertarian Liberal Alliance and national conservative Danish People’s Party remain involved, as do fellow ‘blue bloc’ parties the Conservatives and Liberals.
The Liberal (Venstre) party, the largest in the ‘blue bloc’ conservative group, ruled out governing with Frederiksen prior to the election, but has since moved to a more open stance.
Suggestions the Liberals may be prepared to enter government with the Social Democrats gained momentum following a Liberal party national conference last weekend.
“Confidence [in Frederiksen] is at a very low point when she chooses the blue bloc over the red-green majority,” Villadsen told news wire Ritzau.
She also argued that Frederiksen’s politics have changed.
“This is a new Mette Frederiksen and a very different one to the one who emerged as a left winger in the Social Democrats, who wanted to invest in welfare, and who we have had a good working relationship with in many areas,” she said.
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