The Power Play in Parliament
Opposition parties and independent members Lars Boje Mathiesen and Jeppe Søe have crafted a text for adoption in the Parliament today, aiming to bring the government to the negotiation table.
The text will be voted on after the opening debate concludes. The uncertainty looms over whether it will be approved.
In the text, they mention that the entire opposition has noticed that two out of three government parties – Venstre and Moderaterne – also seek clarification on the pension issue.
This was evident during today’s debate. Venstre’s political spokesperson, Jan E. Jørgensen, expressed the party’s desire for a “work-life commission” to review, among other things, the retirement age.
Monika Rubin from Moderaterne stated that the party prefers to reach an agreement before the next general election.
What is an adoption text?
An adoption text is a specific type of resolution that members of parliament can propose during inquiry debates and opening debates.
A parliamentary adoption is a political statement typically directed at the government. The Parliament votes on the proposed adoption at the end of an inquiry debate. Only one adoption proposal can be approved during each debate, and once a proposal is adopted, any other adoption proposals are invalidated.
During the opening debate, the government also presents an adoption text. Only one adoption text can be passed.
Source: Folketinget
During his speech, Socialdemokratiet’s political spokesperson, Christian Rabjerg Madsen, focused extensively on pensions.
However, even he did not specify how the future pension system should look through the lens of Socialdemokratiet.
From left to right of the hall, he faced roughly the same question for nearly an hour:
Can Socialdemokratiet provide one good reason not to negotiate on the future pension system now and reach an agreement before the election?
– What is the reason for prolonging this process?, asked Danmarksdemokraternes’ leader, Inger Støjberg.
Rabjerg responded by stating that there is no consensus among opposition parties. However, he did not address why negotiations were not initiated at this moment.
– We need to renegotiate well before 2030, he said, referring to the year when parties are scheduled to vote on raising the retirement age to 71 from 2045.
You can listen to his response in the clip below: