According to the moderate minister Christina Egelund, it was perfectly normal for Anders Langballe to receive 455,000 kroner when he resigned as her special advisor in April. But apparently, it is not that common for government spin doctors to walk away from Slotsholmen with a large sum of money. Magnus Ulveman, who worked for the Minister of Health Sophie Løhde from Venstre (the Danish Liberal Party), did not receive a single penny when he resigned at the same time as Langballe after four months. This was revealed through an access to information request from the Ministry of the Interior and Health regarding Ulveman’s employment. Jesper Olsen, chairman of Transparency International Denmark and an external lecturer in public law at the University of Copenhagen, questions why a larger amount was paid to Langballe.
“We can say that it is the zero kroner for Ulveman which is the norm. As a special advisor, it is already included in the salary package that you can leave at any moment. There is nothing to suggest that advisors should receive extra money when they resign,” says Jesper Olsen. The former TV 2 personality and now former spin doctor, wrote on LinkedIn that he left Egelund because he needed more time with his family. He lasted just over a year in the job. Magnus Ulveman also cited a need to balance “family and work life” as the reason for his departure.
“Once again, the issue here is that there is no explanation as to why one advisor receives a larger amount upon resignation while the other does not. When you cannot refer to a set of rules and explain why there is a difference, it is clear that it can cause confusion,” says Jesper Olsen. Ole Birk Olesen from the Liberal Alliance party has previously stated that he believes the situation around Langballe’s resignation “almost seems like a favor,” as there is no indication that Langballe was fired.
“Normally, as a manager and employee, you do not drink wine and socialize afterwards. So it could suggest that indeed, the special advisor chose to resign. But then, he should not receive a severance payment,” said Olesen on May 5. He referred to a conversation between Anders Langballe and Christina Egelund in the comments section of the former’s LinkedIn post. The post has now been edited by Langballe to remove any mention of future wine plans. This situation highlights for Jesper Olsen that the lack of clear rules creates a basis for speculation.
“It may look like that, but I have no basis to say whether it resembles a favor or not. The speculation is just another argument for the need for clear rules. Especially to protect the system (of special advisors) in general and the ministers in particular from unwarranted suspicions of favors,” he says. Anders Langballe has not responded to requests for comment since May 5. The Ministry of Education and Research refers to a previous response to press, in which the ministry stated that “the process for this agreement has followed all rules and has been as in other cases when this type of agreement is made.” The ministry has not specified which set of rules they believe has been followed since May 5.
Anders Langballe has not responded for comment since May 5. B.T. has reached out to Magnus Ulveman, who has no comments. Langballe received an annual salary of 907,078 kroner or 75,589 kroner per month as a special advisor. The 445,000 kroner he is now able to take with him equals five months of salary plus pension.