DANISH POLITICS (5)

Less than a month ago, Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt seemed out for the count, with poll ratings consistently around 17-18%. In today's opinion poll, her Social Democrats stand at 24.2%, close to the 24.8% they polled in the September 2011 general election. Since that election, the party had seemed to plumb ever deeper depths of unpopularity. What is going on?

The answer is a colossal blunder by Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the previous Prime Minister and the man widely tipped (including by me) to get his old job back in two years' time. Following the December 2009 U.N. conference on climate change in Copenhagen, which he chaired as Danish Prime Minister, Mr. Rasmussen in opposition became chairman of a new organisation called the Global Green Growth Institute. As part of that job, he flew around the world drumming up support for green ideas. The problem is the cost of those flights; 15 of them cost a staggering kr.770.000 (more than £80,000), because he regularly flew first class.

If the GGGI were a private company, then this would be a matter for the shareholders, represented by the Board. However, GGGI is not a private company, but gets a big slug of its funding, kr.90m or so, from the Danish Government. That Government is not a happy bunny.

Politicians should always be careful about accepting junkets paid for by taxpayers (whether directly or indirectly); not only should the expense be justified, it should be seen to be justified. In these austerity times, flying first class is hard to justify in any circumstances. If Mr. Rasmussen doesn't know that, then he should.

However, he compounded his initial error by saying that he had not been chairman of CGGI when the policy of flying first class was approved. Even if true, it would not have stopped him from saying to his secretary "please get this ticket changed to business class"; having the right to something doesn't mean you have to take advantage of it, if you think it inappropriate. However, it turned out to be untrue; he was chairman at the time in question.  

The consequences have been dramatic. Support for both his party Venstre and the Social Democrats is now back where it was two years ago, albeit from different directions; some 7% of the electorate have switched sides overnight. A month ago, it was impossible to see how Ms. Thorning-Schmidt could be reelected; Mr. Rasmussen has just shown how.

Walter Blotscher