Politics
Proposed city government reform hanging by a thread
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April 10th, 2013
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This article is more than 11 years old.
Savings on the cost of government in the country’s largest cities are there for the taking, but political infighting could doom the process before it starts
The country's four largest cities could save as much as 250 million kroner each year if they adopted a single mayor form of government rather than the current system that sees power divided among several independent administrations, often headed by members of opposing political parties, according to an Interior Ministry report.
The projected savings for Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg and Odense, however, are stranded on a difference of opinion between PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt (Socialdemokraterne) and Annette Vilhelmsen, the leader of coalition member SF, over whether the changes are necessary.
Party leaders from Socialdemokraterne (S) have tried for months to convince SF members of the savings potential. But the mayors of those four cities are all members of Socialdemokraterne, and SF suspects its allies are simply trying to consolidate power.
Despite the potential savings, the reform was already on thin ice after both Enhedslisten and Venstre declined to support the reform when it was proposed in parliament by the interior minister, Margrethe Vestager (Radikale), in January.
Ninna Thomsen (SF), who heads Copenhagen's healthcare administration, praised Vilhelmsen’s stance against the proposal.
“It is my impression that SF has dug in its heels, and I am obviously very happy with that,” Thomsen told Politiken newspaper.
S spokesperson Simon Kollerup argued that SF's position was costing the taxpayers money.
“They owe an explanation to our residents as to why they want to keep a model that is so inefficient that it costs Copenhagen over 150 million kroner annually for something that is totally unnecessary.”
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