Repetitiveness, narrow-minded party interests and political bullying are the order of the day in the Danish Parliament according to newly-elected members, who after four months in the job are tired of the infighting and hostility on both sides of the House.

“People stand opposite each other and shout: ‘Na, na,na-na,na my Daddy’s bigger than your Daddy’. It’s the same infantile mechanism as in a kindergarten,” says Mette Bock, a former CEO for a private company and now an MP for the Liberal Alliance.

Along with many of her newly-elected colleagues, she feels that Parliament has become ‘foot-slogging and ineffective’ because members would rather show up opponents than find common solutions to the country’s problems.

“Had this been one of the big companies I have led, several people would have been called in for a serious dressing-down,” Bock says.

Both the Social Democratic Speaker and Liberal Deputy Speaker, both of whom have served in Parliament for 30 years, tend to agree. Political discussions go into neutral and confrontations in the House have also now taken over committee rooms.

“We need a Cultural Revolution – and that is something the Presidium agrees on – to try to support (Ed: a change) by experimenting with some new types of debate,” Speaker Mogens Lykketoft tells Politiken.

“There is too much parrot talk, too much polemics, too much positioning,” he tells TV2.

Parliamentary polemics in the new Folketing were evident in its opening debate in October when Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt had to answer the same question about broken promises from leading Liberal politicians some 30 times.

Despite the fact that there was no concrete answer, the séance lasted some 90 minutes.

Former Headmaster Troels Ravn (SDP) says he is happy that he did not have a class present at the opening session.

“It’s almost war. Both blocs have representatives in the parties who you get the feeling are put into Parliament as warriors rather than politicians,” Ravn says.

Ravn, who also served as MP from 2005-2007, says that things have gone awry in recent years with politicians taking part in adult bullying and only seeking to profile themselves.

“There is a lack of respect for democracy and each other. The fact that people want to be seen and heard all the time is at the expense of decision-making,” he adds.

Since 2009 Parliament has transmitted its debates and open meetings live. Newly-elected MPs feel that the broadcasts tempt members into mudslinging both in the chamber and in the open consultations with ministers.

“Some differences are cultivated ad infinitum. You don’t need to repeat your differences every time you meet – or every time television is broadcasting,” says Red Green Christian Juhl.

The Danish People’s Party’s Marie Krarup says the electorate is simply being given live theatricals.

“Many think more about their appearance than political content,” she says.

For Professor Asbjørn Sonne Nørgaard, a researcher of parliamentary legislation preparation, points to an ‘Americanisation’ in which live cameras are equal to a permanent election campaign.

“There must be a balance and not a permanent craving for media coverage. The bread and butter work in Parliament is perhaps not the best place for political theatre,” Nørgaard says.

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