According to TV2, three campaign invoices revealed that acting Minister for Immigration and Integration Rasmus Stoklund and his party colleague Fie Hækkerup (daughter of former Justice Minister Nick Hækkerup) were among Social Democratic politicians in the Danish Parliament who received support from a secret society with ties to the trade union movement and old party leaders.
The invoices showed that the politicians together received at least 86,550 Danish kroner to cover the costs of election posters and delivery services from the association.
ووصف خبراء هذه المناورة بأنها “حيلة جمعية”، لأنها تعمل مباشرة ضد قانون دعم الأحزاب عبر إخفاء مسار الأموال المتجهة إلى الحزب الاشتراكي الديمقراطي ومرشحيه. فمن خلال تمرير الأموال عبر جمعية، لا تظهر في حسابات الحزب الجهة التي قدمت الأموال فعلياً.
Bills reveal the path of support
According to the source, Ibsens Fabrikker, a company specializing in the production of election posters, sent the three invoices to the campaign office association Foreningen Kampagnebureauet, totaling 86,550 Danish kroner.
Rasmus Stoklund received the largest amount of paid support, with bills including election posters worth 57,800 kroner, plus express delivery worth 14,375 kroner.
One of the invoices revealed that Fie Hækkerup also received express delivery services worth 14,375 kroner, paid for by the secret society.
Warning of erosion of political transparency
Anne Skorkjær Binderkrantz, a professor of political science at Aarhus University, said that party support rules were put in place to ensure that voters could track the money entering politics.
وأضافت: “عندما تلتف أحزاب مثل الحزب الاشتراكي الديمقراطي على القواعد بهذه الطريقة، تختفي الشفافية. ويمكن أن يؤدي ذلك إلى تغذية انعدام الثقة بالسياسيين لدى كثيرين في المجتمع. وهناك أغلبية كبيرة بين السكان تريد الحصول على رؤية أفضل حول المصالح التي تلعب، بطرق مختلفة، دوراً سياسياً”، وذلك في تصريح لها لموقع TV2.
The rules of support allow for concealing the true source of funding.
The rules for party support state that if a party receives financial support exceeding 25,700 Danish kroner, the donor's name must appear in the party's accounts.
The threshold for publishing the donor's name increases slightly each year, while all parties are required to send their accounts to the Danish Parliament (Folketinget) no later than 12 months after the end of the calendar year, and the Parliament then publishes these accounts.
But when a support association is presented, the party can hide who is actually putting money into its election campaign, and simply write the association's name as the donor.
He refused to answer despite repeated attempts.
According to TV2, Fie Hækkerup and Rasmus Stoklund, despite several attempts to contact them, refused to answer why they received money from the campaign office association Foreningen Kampagnebureauet.
None of those involved were willing to defend this arrangement or explain its background.
The support does not represent the entirety of election spending.
The expenses covered by the secret society represent only a portion of the total campaign expenses of the Social Democratic politicians.
Figures from politiskreklame.dk, where political campaigns must be registered, show that Rasmus Stoklund spent 332,200 kroner on political campaigns, while Fie Hækkerup spent 112,102 kroner. These campaigns may include, for example, advertisements in local newspapers.
It was unclear whether the other large sums were also paid by the campaign office association, Foreningen Kampagnebureauet.
An association established shortly before the elections
The Campaign Office Association (Foreningen Kampagnebureauet) was founded on January 28, 2026, less than a month before the election was announced on February 24.
The association appears, on the surface, to be anonymous, as it does not have a website and there are no details about its true purpose.
A request for access to the documents revealed that the association was founded by a number of prominent former and current figures in the Social Democratic Party and the trade union movement, all of whom pay unknown sums for membership.
Prominent names within the association
Former Justice Minister and director of the Brewers' Association (Bryggeriforeningen), Nick Hækkerup, was among the co-founders of the association. He is also the father of Fie Hækkerup.
It was also co-founded by Anders Friis-Hansen, who works daily as an advisor to the head of the 3F union, Henning Overgaard, and at the same time serves as the head of the Social Democratic Party branch in the municipality of Ballerup, according to the source.
A former party advisor is the head of the association and played a role in the campaign.
The association is chaired by Dan Holt Højgaard, a long-time advisor to the Social Democratic Party and campaign manager for the Minister of Children and Education, Mattias Tesfaye.
ويصف دان هولت هويغارد Dan Holt Højgaard نفسه في ملفه على لينكدإن LinkedIn بأنه “مهندس مجتمع مدني”، من دون ارتباط رسمي بالحزب الاشتراكي الديمقراطي.
However, the report's information indicates that he played a central role for the party in the recent election campaign, as he made several presentations to all of the party's candidates, and also served as coordinator for Mattias Tesfaye's election campaign.
Failed attempts to secure interviews
TV2 reported that journalists had been trying for several days to get an interview with Dan Holt Højgaard, Rasmus Stoklund, Fie Hækkerup and Nick Hækkerup.
But none of them responded to phone calls or text messages.
An issue that was previously a priority for the party
In 2014, the Helle Thorning-Schmidt government established an expert committee to make recommendations on amending the rules for party support.
وقال الأستاذ الفخري في جامعة آرهوس Aarhus Universitet يورغن ألبك ينسن Jørgen Albæk Jensen لموقع TV2 : “في ذلك الوقت، كان الحزب الاشتراكي الديمقراطي حريصاً جداً على تشديد القواعد، وبدأ عملاً لإعداد تقرير في هذا المجال شاركت أنا في إعداده”.
وأضاف: “كانت التوصية حينها تشديد القواعد بشكل واضح من أجل خلق الشفافية، لكن الحزب الاشتراكي الديمقراطي انتهى إلى عقد اتفاق مع حكومة VLAK أبقى على الإمكانات الجيدة جداً لتنفيذ مثل هذه الحيل عبر جمعيات وشركات تدعم في الخفاء”.
Internal anger within the party following the association's revelations
The secret society caused internal turmoil in the Social Democratic Party after its existence was revealed in the first week of the election campaign, and more than 30 Social Democratic candidates for parliament were asked whether they had received support from it.
Four candidates responded that they had not received support from the association.
وعندما سُئلت رئيسة الوزراء ميته فريدريكسن Mette Frederiksen في مؤتمر صحفي خلال الحملة الانتخابية عن الدعم الحزبي المخفي، قالت إن “الحزب الاشتراكي الديمقراطي يلتزم بجميع القواعد الموجودة”.
Criticisms emerged publicly after the elections.
A number of politicians in the Social Democratic Party expressed criticism of the secret society behind the scenes, but none of them wanted to make a statement in their own name during the election campaign.
Weeks after the election, former members of parliament Maria Durhuus, Kim Aas and Morten Klessen came out publicly and criticized the Social Democratic Party for allowing the campaign office association Foreningen Kampagnebureauet to influence the election by secretly supporting certain selected candidates with money from anonymous sponsors.
Researcher warns against influencing election results
According to the source, Ditte Shamshiri-Petersen, a lecturer in political science at Aalborg University, said that hidden support could influence the outcome of the elections.
وأضافت: “إذا حصل بعض المرشحين على موارد غير شفافة للآخرين، سواء داخل الحزب أو بالنسبة للناخبين، فقد يسهم ذلك في تغيير المنافسة، وفي النهاية يؤثر في من يحصل على ما يكفي من الأصوات الشخصية ليُنتخب”.
وقالت الأستاذة آن سكوركيار بيندركرانتز Anne Skorkjær Binderkrantz، وهي أيضاً عضو في قيادة البحث ضمن تحقيق السلطة Magtudredningen الذي يدرس حالة الديمقراطية في الدنمارك: “إدارة حملة انتخابية أمر مكلف، ولذلك يمكن أن يصبح حاسماً تماماً أي المرشحين يحصلون على دعم من جمعية مثل هذه”.
The party refers to a previous response.
The Social Democratic Party was asked why it accepted support for its candidates through a secret society that experts criticize for circumventing party support rules.
The party referred to a previous written response from party secretary Lasse Ryberg, which the website received in March.
In that reply, Lasse Ryberg wrote that the party had nothing to do with the creation or management of the association.
Unanswered questions about the association's relationship with the party
The party was subsequently asked how that response was consistent with the fact that the chairman of the association frequented the party headquarters in Christiansborg (the Danish parliament building) on a daily basis, and was a point of contact and coordinator for Education Minister Mattias Tesfaye during the election campaign.
Questions were also raised about the sources from which the party receives funds, and why it is not fully transparent about the support.
The party did not respond to these questions, according to TV2.
The 3F union has refused to respond for two months.
The 3F union, represented in the secret society by senior advisor Anders Friis-Hansen, also refused for two months to answer the question of whether the union had funded the society, according to the source.
Transparency in political financing under pressure
The case puts party funding rules in Denmark under new pressure, as it reveals how an association that does not disclose its true funders can appear in the accounts as the donor, while those who actually pump money remain out of the voters' knowledge.
The bills, and the statements of political science and legal experts, raise direct questions about transparency, fair competition between candidates, and the ability of voters to know which interests fund political campaigns and influence the course of elections.
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