Venstre’s executive committee unanimously backed the party’s leadership in an extraordinary meeting in Nyborg.
The party has experienced many years of electoral trouble. However, the past months have seen the party spiral in opinion polls and the parliamentary group split over key political questions.
On Sunday, the executive committee met to discuss the future of the party and expressed their support for leader Troels Lund Poulsen’s decision to move the party in a greener and more environmentally minded direction.
This was confirmed by Lund Poulsen and deputy leader Stephanie Lose in a press conference after the extraordinary meeting.
Conflict over agriculture and environment
Although Venstre’s troubles arguably started in the late noughties and further escalated in the early 2020s when two splinter parties emerged, the months following the 2026 election have exacerbated the party’s troublesome position.
This started when five of the 18 members of Venstre’s parliamentary group broke with the party line in September and voted against the fertiliser bill.
The bill sets nitrate emission caps on farmers, which will lead to the fallowing of farmland, especially in areas close to Danish waterways.
Amongst the five rebels was one of the party’s biggest figures: former Speaker of the Folketing Søren Gade. He, however, resigned from the Folketing last Sunday (18 October).
The internal split has gone hand in hand with a spiral in opinion polls that has seen the party fall as low as 5.8%, the lowest the party has ever polled.
Extraordinary meeting
The party announced earlier in the month that its executive committee would hold an extraordinary meeting on Sunday to discuss the internal difficulties in the party.
At the meeting, all members of the committee confirmed their backing of the current leadership.
They also backed the leadership’s decision to support a greener approach to questions such as the fertiliser bill and a coming bill limiting pesticide use.
This meeting comes a few weeks before the party’s annual conference in mid-November, where Lund Poulsen and Lose are seeking to be re-elected to their current positions.
“Voluntary but binding community”
Following the meeting, Lund Poulsen and Lose held a press conference, where they set out a new expectation for the party’s members of the Folketing.
Lund Poulsen said: “It is my clear expectation that members of Venstre know that it is a voluntary but binding community, where everyone agrees to support the community’s direction. And if one does not agree with that, one must accept the consequences of it.”
He confirmed this means that the party will exclude members who do not vote with the party line from the parliamentary group: “I hope we don’t get to that point. But if someone is not willing to fall in line with what the majority decides, then they are not part of the parliamentary group.”
Eyes turned to the remaining rebels
There are four remaining rebels who voted against the fertiliser bill: Preben Bang Henriksen, Anni Matthiesen, Peter Juel-Jensen, and Amanda Heitmann.
While votes on the fertiliser bill are complete, the next environmental regulatory bill expected to be voted on is the pesticide ban, which is due to be put before the Folketing in December.
The bill will ban the commercial use of pesticides in particularly vulnerable groundwater areas. Lose said on Sunday that Venstre cannot promise to vote for the ban but will negotiate constructively.
Whether these rebels plan on backing the party leadership or are inclined to risk their place in the parliamentary group remains unknown.
