It is a problem that the Liberal politician Søren Gade is both the Speaker of the Folketing and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Port of Esbjerg. This is the case, as the port is in competition to play a role in the production of new warships for the Armed Forces, according to Alex Ahrendtsen (DF), among others.
- If I were him, I would resign as chairman of the Port of Esbjerg. To bring everything to a halt, he told TV 2 on Tuesday.
Previously, the Alternative and the Unity List have criticized Søren Gade. This has thus spread to both sides of the political middle. The Danish Democrats' Lise Bech is also surprised that the Speaker of the Folketing has retained her chairmanship at the Port of Esbjerg.
She emphasizes that it is problematic, as the Port of Esbjerg "has bid" on the new fleet plan. Therefore, it may be necessary to opt out of the port, it is said. The leader of the Liberal Party, Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen, denies that Gade's presidencies are a problem.
He points out that in 2022 the Danish Parliament approved that Gade could be chairman of both the Danish Parliament and the Port of Esbjerg. That argument no longer holds, says Lise Bech, who says that the Port of Esbjerg is "actively participating" in negotiations on the fleet plan.
Søren Gade writes in a text message to TV 2 that the Port of Esbjerg has "absolutely nothing" to do with shipbuilding. The Greens' Peder Hvelplund told the media earlier in April that Søren Gade, by virtue of the dual chairmanship, can "influence decisions".
At the same time, Sascha Faxe of the Alternative party said that Gade's interests could be "questioned". It is a political ambition that a "large degree of production" of warships for the Danish navy can take place in Denmark.
This is evident from the naval plan, which was presented on Tuesday at the Ministry of Defense. The specific details are still pending. The plan for the warships will thus come when the defense alliance NATO's strength goals are known. They are not expected until June. After that, it will be decided what to acquire and how, and how expensive it will be.
jel /ritzau/
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