The article has been updated with Venstre leader Troels Lund Poulsen’s comments on the resignation.
On Sunday evening, Søren Gade, a member of the Folketing for Venstre, announced he was resigning his seat.
Until earlier this week, Gade was Speaker of the Folketing. He has previously served as Minister of Defence and represented the party in the European Parliament.
In the Facebook post announcing his resignation, he cited a growing disagreement with party leadership as a reason for his early exit.
Storied history in Danish politics
Søren Gade was first elected to the Folketing in 2001 and rose quickly to the prominent role of Minister of Defence in 2004.
During his tenure, he oversaw Danish participation in the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
He became very popular in the role. However, he resigned in 2010 after a strange scandal in which his ministry published an Arabic translation of a book that revealed Danish defence methods.
He took a couple of years’ break from Danish politics following this, during which he served a short stint as CEO of the Danish Agriculture & Food Council before leaving the role amid significant financial losses for the organisation.
After another short stint back in the Folketing, he was elected to the European Parliament in 2019, serving less than a full term before returning to the Folketing in 2022.
As part of government negotiations in 2022, Gade was chosen to be Speaker of the Folketing as a way for the Social Democrats (Socialdemokratiet) to show Venstre they were serious about forming a grand coalition.
Time as Speaker of the Folketing
As Speaker of the Folketing, Gade was a controversial figure.
This was primarily because he decided to break with standard practice and hold onto another job while serving as Speaker.
He continued as Chairman of the Board of the Port of Esbjerg, which opposition parties argued posed a conflict of interest with his Speaker role.
Gade also ended up in a conflict with Greenlandic member of the Folketing Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam when she insisted on speaking Greenlandic in the Folketing.
However, the conflict ended with Gade and the Presidium introducing Greenlandic and Faroese simultaneous translation.
A rough couple of months
The last few months for Gade have not been particularly quiet.
He first gained significant attention when, at the start of September, he and four other MPs voted against Venstre’s party line on a controversial fertiliser law.
The law introduced limits on nitrate emissions from farmers and was therefore very unpopular with the agricultural sector.
Gade stayed in the limelight when, the day before his tenure as Speaker ended at the start of October, Jyllands-Posten published a scathing portrait of him, with people close to him describing him as “lazy”, “money-obsessed”, and “egotistical”.
In response to this portrait, Gade remarked that he had enemies in high places in Venstre.
“The last few weeks have been a tough ordeal”
In his Facebook post announcing his resignation, Gade starts by noting, “The last few weeks have been a tough ordeal – both for me and my closest ones. The many kind greetings and messages I’ve received from near and far have truly been appreciated.”
He went on to write, “After the last parliamentary election, Venstre’s leadership decided that the party should embark on a new journey. I have tried to find my place on that journey, but I must also acknowledge that I can no longer stand behind the direction. And I don’t know the destination either.”
He specifically mentioned the fertiliser law, remarking, “It is simply not fair to the many Danes who will feel the consequences of the law.”
He also mentioned the aforementioned article in Jyllands-Posten, writing, “Anyone who knows the political environment knows that such stories rarely arise on their own. The thought that people I have worked with and trusted have been part of it genuinely saddens me. It is not decent, and it is miles away from the rules of the game I have known throughout my political life.”
He went on to thank everyone who had supported him and voted for him, as well as to wish his successor well.
Venstre’s leader reacts
Leader of Venstre Troels Lund Poulsen responded to the resignation across social media, writing, “I am sorry about his decision, but I also respect that he has come to that conclusion.”
Lund Poulsen went on to note, “In recent years, Søren has received harsh treatment in the Danish media, and as he himself writes, it has been a ‘tough ordeal’. I understand that completely.”
Lund Poulsen, in his post, goes on to criticise the article in Jyllands-Posten, but does not comment on the controversy around the fertiliser law.
He closes the statement by writing, “I wish Søren all the best for the future and look forward to us continuing to meet and talk about everything and nothing, as we have done for the last 20 years.”
