A new agreement on the area of disabilities, which has been in the works for a long time, is now close to being announced. However, at the last minute, both the Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti) and the Denmark Democrats (Danmarksdemokraterne) have chosen to withdraw from the negotiations. Dansk Folkeparti’s spokesperson on disabilities, Mette Thiesen, has expressed dissatisfaction with the content and purpose of the agreement. “When the entire premise of an agreement on the area of disabilities is to save money, unfortunately, we have to withdraw,” she stated. According to Thiesen, the negotiations have been characterized by a lack of real influence. “There were very few things that could be changed in the nearly finished agreement text, which other parties had negotiated,” she said.
Similarly, the Denmark Democrats’ spokesperson on disabilities, Marlene Harpsøe, has criticized the process. “It has been a rather odd process where there hasn’t been much opportunity to shape the agreement text,” Harpsøe explained. She added that the government’s focus seems to be on economics rather than quality development in the area of disabilities. At the beginning of the negotiation process, only the Socialist People’s Party (SF), the Radical Left (De Radikale), and the Conservatives (De Konservative) were invited. However, SF was later excluded from the negotiations, which they attribute to the government’s intention for savings.
Previously, both DR and Altinget have revealed details from a leaked draft of the agreement, which has been criticized by, among others, Danish Disability Organizations for focusing too much on savings. Social Minister Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil (S) has denied that it is a cost-cutting exercise and criticized the opponents’ interpretation of the agreement. The agreement is expected to be publicly presented on Thursday afternoon.