In a striking exchange on Twitter, Venstre’s (The Liberal Party) political spokesperson, Torsten Schack Pedersen, has caused a stir in the political landscape with a comment directed at the ill Rasmus Jarlov from Konservative (The Conservative Party). The comment came during a discussion about Venstre’s elder policy, where Jarlov remarked that an elderly gentleman in a campaign picture looked fresh. To this, Schack Pedersen replied: “He is not on sick leave either.” This jab did not go unnoticed among political colleagues, who were quick to condemn Schack Pedersen’s statement.
Mette Abildgaard, political spokesperson for Konservative, criticized him for showing an “indescribably low level.” Similar sentiments were expressed by Liberal Alliances (The Liberal Alliance Party) political spokesperson, Sólbjørg Jakobsen, who called for everyone to “rein it in.” Denmark’s Democrats (Danmarksdemokraterne) political spokesperson, Susie Jessen, also joined the criticism by describing the comment as “too low.” Rasmus Jarlov himself simply replied with a “Wow” on Twitter. This episode has raised questions about political etiquette and the tone that exists on social media among politicians. B.T. (an abbreviation for Børsen og Transport-Tidende, a Danish newspaper) has attempted to get a comment from Torsten Schack Pedersen, but he has not yet commented on the matter.