With a new proposal, Minister Stephanie Lose (V) may soon be provided with housing by the Danish Parliament. Ministers who are not members of the Parliament and live far from Slotsholmen will soon have the opportunity to have a parliamentary residence provided. This is the opinion of the Danish Parliament’s Presidium, the leadership of the Parliament, which is putting forward the proposal. The aim is to have the rule change adopted before the Parliament closes for the summer, says the Speaker of the Parliament, Søren Gade (V), to Ritzau.
“I think we must respect that a minister – regardless of party affiliation – needs to have the opportunity to live in Copenhagen. Currently, members of Parliament who live far from Slotsholmen have the option to have a member’s residence provided by the Parliament. However, this does not apply to ministers who have not been elected to Parliament. These non-elected ministers can instead receive financial compensation for hotel and apartment stays. With the new rules, a minister will no longer receive compensation if they choose to accept a member’s residence. There are three ministers in the current SVM government who have not been elected to Parliament: the Moderates’ Christina Egelund and Lars Aagaard, and the Venstre’s Stephanie Lose.
The change will currently apply to the Minister of Economy Stephanie Lose, who lives in Esbjerg, says Søren Gade. Like Søren Gade, Lose is a member of Venstre, but Gade denies that this has influenced the proposal: “I am the speaker of the entire Parliament, so it has nothing to do with favors. It is common sense. I have five or six apartments, and the state can save some money,” he says.
Currently, non-elected ministers outside of Zealand can receive compensation for a supplementary residence near Slotsholmen. This compensation will be removed with the new rules, which according to Søren Gade, is financially sensible. Regular members of Parliament, however, will have priority over the ministers – even if the members of Parliament live on Zealand. If there is a shortage of housing, and a non-elected minister has one of them, then they will have to move out, says Søren Gade.
Copenhagen municipality will have to grant an exemption from the residence requirement law. According to Gade, the municipality looks favorably on the matter if the law is passed.