In a recent development in Danish politics, spokesperson for immigration policy, Mohammad Rona (M), has expressed his confusion and frustration over Stine Bosse’s statements regarding Denmark’s reception of refugees. Bosse’s initial announcement that Denmark should prepare to receive up to 7000 refugees annually has generated significant attention and debate. During a meeting with Bosse, who is the Moderate Party’s moderate lead candidate for the upcoming EU election, Rona emphasized the importance of not specifying concrete numbers for refugee intake. “We talked about being very careful when putting a number on this, and that it is not our policy to go out and spread a number in this way,” explained Rona.
Stine Bosse has since retracted her statement and referred to the 7000 refugees as a “fictitious number,” describing it as a worst-case scenario far in the future, not currently reflective of the party’s policy. Rona has not been able to provide a clear explanation as to why Bosse initially made her announcement. “I don’t know why she goes out and makes statements regarding the number of refugees. It’s essentially a domestic political issue, so I don’t know why she does that,” he said.
According to Rona, the Moderate Party’s stance is clear: “We should not accept 7000 refugees. The EU should accept far fewer than it does today,” he asserted. Bosse has subsequently clarified that her actual ambition is for Denmark to accept zero refugees, unlike the 7000 she previously mentioned. She also acknowledges that she needs to be clearer in her communication to avoid misunderstandings in the future.
This episode has elicited critical reactions from other political parties, including the Social Democrats and Venstre (Left Party), which have been quick to comment on Bosse’s original statement and the subsequent confusion.