HomeDanish PoliticsDanish Politician Criticizes Party Switching During Election Period in Interview

Danish Politician Criticizes Party Switching During Election Period in Interview

Bjarne Laustsen, a long-serving member of the Danish Parliament (Folketing) for the Social Democrats (Socialdemokratiet), has sharply criticized politicians who switch parties mid-term. In an interview with Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR), he expressed his frustration over party-switchers and emphasized the importance of loyalty.

Laustsen compared political party changes to other shifts people make in life, stating, “Some people switch their beer brand. Some people switch their tobacco brand. Some people switch their car brand. There are even those who switch their spouse. But your political party? That’s something you don’t change. There must be loyalty,” he said.

He explained that this stance also extends to new members of the parliamentary group who have previously been part of other parties such as the Social Liberal Party (Radikale Venstre) or the Socialist People’s Party (SF). He stressed that political views should not change overnight and that any switch should occur in conjunction with the next election rather than in the middle of a term.

DR noted that a significant portion of the Social Democrats’ current parliamentary group and several ministers have switched parties in the past. For instance, Ida Auken previously switched from the Social Liberal Party, while Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil moved from the Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten) to the Social Democrats. Astrid Krag and Jesper Petersen have also been former members of SF. In response, Laustsen remarked, “These people have to be somewhere.”

A recent survey conducted by DR revealed that 69 percent of Danes believe that politicians who switch parties mid-term should resign from the Folketing altogether. The debate surrounding this issue has been intensified by Christian Friis Bach’s recent switch from the Social Liberal Party to the Liberal Party (Venstre), which has brought negative attention to their internal conflicts and discontent.

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