Venstre voted in favor of Denmark’s contested nitrogen fertilizer law in the Folketing on September 3, and local party chairmen in rural areas say members are now leaving in protest.
The law regulating agriculture’s nitrogen emissions was passed at exactly 1 p.m., with backing from Venstre. DR reports that criticism from the party’s grassroots is now falling on leader Troels Lund Poulsen.
In Hals, local Venstre association chairman Klaus Aage Bengtson lowered the Danish flag to half-mast outside his stable building. He is a farmer himself and calls it a day of mourning. Per DR, he says the law will cost jobs and that he cannot understand the vote.
Bengtson has been a member for almost 50 years. He says the leadership has failed and that Venstre needs a new leader, and he hopes for change at the party’s national congress in November. According to DR, he has already received calls from members resigning.
Resignations in the local associations
Lars Peter Frisk, a former Aalborg city council member, is leaving the party after 30 years. As reported by DR, he says the leadership is now targeting urban voters and telling rural residents to manage on their own.
Martin Brag Christiansen from Bjergby-Mygdal in Vendsyssel is stepping down as local association chairman in protest. He is a farmer and will not seek reelection at the general assembly after New Year. He says he has not yet decided whether to leave the party entirely.
Torben Galsgaard, chairman in Sdr Lem-Højmark-Velling, told DR he is not resigning now but is very frustrated and worried about the industry. He says he wants proof that Venstre’s presence at the negotiating table actually protects farmers from the demands of minister Franciska Rosenkilde.
Svend Bjerre Bøgh, chairman in Dronninglund in North Jutland, says people have told him they will not continue as members. He adds that he is wavering himself. In Sallingsund, chairman Thorkild Abildgaard says three or four members resigned on Monday and expects more.
Support for the party line
DR states that many of the local chairmen it contacted back the leadership and have heard of no protest resignations. Thomas Kristensen from Nørre Snede-Ejstrupholm says staying inside the agreement is the least wrong option. Lars Vestergaard from Hvirring, Hornborg and Korning says the rules were already part of the tripartite negotiations.
Although Venstre backed the bill, 5 of the party’s 18 members of the Folketing voted against it. Troels Lund Poulsen said he regrets that the parliamentary group is not united, but that it does not change his political line.
He described the issue as difficult for the party, pointing to the need for both a better water environment and reasonable conditions for Danish agriculture. He then entered the chamber and voted in favor.
