In a new audiobook, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, former Prime Minister and current leader of the Moderates, reveals that during the formation of the government after the recent general election, plans were made for a broad coalition government that, however, excluded his own party, the Moderates. The book, titled ‘The Price of Liberation,’ will be released on Wednesday and contains several new details about the political maneuvers behind the scenes. According to Løkke, he was only called to bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and was not part of the broader negotiations with other parties. “A blind person can see that some thought there should be a broad government, but it certainly should not include the Moderates,” he states in the audiobook.
Løkke describes how he felt that his party was being kept at arm’s length during the negotiations, which stretched over November and December 2022. “I can only judge from the outside, but I think there were quite a few exercises going on to see if something could be done across the middle, and if it could be done without those who had initiated it,” he says.
Reportedly, Mette Frederiksen preferred to form a government with parties such as the Socialist People’s Party (SF), the Radical Left, the Liberal Party (Venstre), and the Conservatives. However, after both the Conservatives and SF withdrew from the negotiations, the Social Democrats and Venstre were dependent on the Moderates’ mandates to form a majority government. It was only on December 13, 2022, more than a month after the November 1 election, that Mette Frederiksen succeeded in presenting a new government to the queen.
This new insight into the dynamics and challenges of government formation sheds light on the complex relationships and strategies that characterize Danish politics behind closed doors.