Several election posters from parties like the Social Democrats, the Socialist People’s Party (SF), the Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten), the Moderates (Moderaterne), and Venstre were torn down in Copenhagen on Sunday night, just half a day after they were put up. The destruction was documented with pictures and videos from several areas around the lakes in Copenhagen. Copenhagen Police were alerted at 00:50 with a report of political vandalism around Peblinge Dosseringen, where several culprits were seen cutting down election posters. The police responded to the scene but failed to apprehend the perpetrators. However, a description was noted.
“We have taken the necessary investigative steps to find the perpetrators,” says Stefan Ladeby, the duty officer at Copenhagen Police, and urges citizens to leave the posters up, as removing them is considered political vandalism and is punishable under the penal code. From a political standpoint, there is strong condemnation.
“Totally unacceptable that election posters have been torn down in Copenhagen. Undemocratic,” writes Christel Schaldemose, lead candidate for the Social Democrats, on X. She also thanks the candidate from the Red-Green Alliance, Ludvig Goldschmidt, who was up early on Sunday morning to put up both his own and his competitors’ posters again.
“Sunday morning is spent putting up both my own and my competitors’ posters again because idiots cut them down last night,” Ludvig Goldschmidt also writes on X. The Moderates announce that “several hundred” of their posters were cut down.
“Now we are putting them up again, but a democratic election campaign should be won with arguments and not with vandalism,” the party writes on LinkedIn.