Today’s big topic: The center-right bloc has become even more fragile
FV26: The Publicist Club is hosting a party leaders’ debate at Industriens Hus. Venstre leader Troels Lund Poulsen (V), Liberal Alliance leader Alex Vanopslagh (LA), Danmarksdemokraterne leader Inger Støjberg (DD) and Dansk Folkeparti leader Morten Messerschmidt (DF).
What’s happening?
Two newly elected members of parliament have already been excluded from their parties since the election last Tuesday.
First, Borgernes Parti (BP) expelled its second-largest vote-getter, Jacob Harris, and now Liberal Alliance (LA) has said goodbye to its newly elected member of Parliament, Cecilie Liv Hansen.
On Saturday night, Liberal Alliance announced that the 24-year-old politician had been expelled from the party because of »false information of a substantial nature«.
Politiken’s political analyst Elisabet Svane has seen a lot in the years she has covered Danish politics. Still, the turbulence in the right-wing parties over the past few days has been »pretty wild« to watch unfold.
»It’s a defeat for Liberal Alliance, but together with Harris’ departure, it’s also really bad for the blue bloc«, explains Elisabet Svane.
Why it matters!
According to Elisabet Svane, the drama surrounding Cecilie Liv Hansen is a »really bad case« for Liberal Alliance. Not many weeks have passed since the party’s leader, Alex Vanopslagh, admitted that he had used cocaine.
»The fact that she didn’t tell the truth to the party means they have a very good reason to expel her. That’s a no-go in the political world. That said, a case involving drugs is the last thing LA needs, and I think that’s partly why they reacted so quickly«.
Cecilie Liv Hansen’s departure is not just sending tremors through Liberal Alliance. According to Svane, together with Harris’ departure from Borgenes Parti, it will be felt across the entire blue bloc.
»The center-right parties were already very far from a majority. Now, even before the real negotiations have begun, they’ve lost two seats. They didn’t have many chances before, and now there are practically none«.
Taking the long view, the political analyst believes that both Jacob Harris’ and Cecilie Liv Hansen’s departures are a wake-up call for every party right now: »This case shows just how important it is for parties to really vet the candidates they nominate. LA may feel they did that here. But they clearly didn’t do it well enough«.
Still curious? Read the full article here.
In other news
– Perfect start to the season for Jonas Vingegaard
Two weeks ago, the 29-year-old Dane had barely stepped down from the podium after his overall victory at Paris-Nice, still wearing the yellow leader’s jersey, before the criticism hit. Yesterday, Jonas Vingegaard won the Volta a Catalunya by the largest margin over the runner-up since 1939, and he took two stage wins along the way. However, Visma Lease a Bike once again looked like a weakened team, lacking the depth it has had in other years. Despite all the doubts cast over his potential to challenge Tadej Pogacar in the Tour de France, Jonas Vingegaard start to the season has been perfect.
–Male local politicians earn 10 percent more than women counterparts
According to an analysis by the Danish Institute for Human Rights, male local politicians earn an average of 319,580 kroner for their work on municipal councils and for outside posts. Their female colleagues earn 286,521 kroner. That is a difference of 10 percent. »Men make more money from being in local politics than women, who hold less powerful and less lucrative positions«, said Tine Birkelund Thomsen, the institute’s head of equal treatment, in a press release.
–Tax experts sound the alarm over a »catastrophic« and »deeply worrying« development
A serious shift has taken place now that successive tax ministers, along with the political parties behind the housing tax agreement, accept that unjustified tax bills are being issued. Ten years ago, illegal tax demands were considered wholly unacceptable and were halted almost immediately by the minister in charge. Today, the tax authorities and the minister express regret over the mistake, but the system simply carries on.
Talk of town: It is one of the most important films of our time on the most important subject of our time
Artificial intelligence is advancing at a speed we don’t understand.
Not even the smartest experts on the planet grasp the pace. But they do know that the world will be completely transformed before long.
We meet them in Oscar-winning Daniel Roher (’Navalny’) and Charlie Tyrell’s mindblowing documentary ’The AI Doc: Or How I Became An Apocaloptimist’, which screened at this year’s CPH:DOX and which I’ve had a hard time shaking off.
AI is one of the defining questions of our time, and this is one of its most important films.It is exemplary, rigorously grounded science journalism, and at the same time so dramatic that, along the way, you find yourself wishing it were fiction.
The directors have spoken with the sharpest minds from organizations, faculties, and companies, and when they lay out their visions of a near future shaped by exponential growth, you can only stare, mouth open, shaking your head.
There is reason to be terrified. But there is also reason to be thrilled. The crystal ball shows both a world on fire and a world without disease. Both are plausible. Either way, your life will be increasingly intertwined with artificial intelligence.
Read the full review of the documentary here.
This newsletter features stories originally published in Danish. AI was used to shorten and translate the articles into English, after which a member of the editorial staff reviewed and refined the content.