De Radikale’s (The Radical Liberals) Katrine Robsøe reportedly cried during a negotiation process according to Dansk Folkeparti’s (Danish People’s Party) Nick Zimmermann. The Speaker of the Parliament, Søren Gade (V), said in a written comment to Ritzau that “politics is a contact sport,” but that what happens in a negotiation room should stay there, and politicians should maintain a good tone towards each other. This is the message from Søren Gade after Ekstra Bladet published a story on Friday about De Radikale’s Katrine Robsøe, who reportedly cried during a negotiation process earlier in the week according to DF’s Nick Zimmermann.
“I was not present at the mentioned negotiation, so I will only address the issue in general,” said Søren Gade. “Politics is a contact sport, but it should be done fairly. It is common courtesy that what happens in a negotiation room stays in the negotiation room. Everyone is best served if we maintain a good tone among ourselves, even though we have different opinions,” he added. On Thursday, a broad majority in the Parliament presented an agreement to strengthen efforts against the use of illegal labor in Danish workplaces. The next day, Ekstra Bladet published a story that De Radikale’s spokesperson on employment, Katrine Robsøe, reportedly broke down during the negotiations according to several sources the media spoke to.
The issue was that Robsøe could not get a section in the agreement praising foreign labor. Nick Zimmermann was quoted in Ekstra Bladet saying, “Katrine Robsøe starts crying a lot because there was a formulation in the agreement text that she couldn’t get in, and I believe that we are adults who see this as serious work.” Zimmermann added that he found it “awkward to sit in a negotiation room with someone who cries a lot.”
Following this, several politicians from different parties criticized Zimmermann heavily for his statements. However, Zimmermann took the criticism calmly. On Saturday, Zimmerman told Ekstra Bladet in a written comment, “I would never disclose confidential meetings. “He also reiterated that he found the episode with Robsøe awkward. He maintains that the Radical politician cried because she didn’t get her way. In a text message to Ekstra Bladet, Robsøe wrote, “I become sad when colleagues cannot maintain a good tone.”