Mette Frederiksen buys a summer house in partnership with her friend, the minister whom Mette dismissed yesterday.
According to the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen purchased a summer house this morning in partnership with her friend and former political colleague, Pernille Rosenkranz-Till. This comes as Frederiksen has paved the way for Rosenkranz-Till's political future as a candidate for mayor of Copenhagen.
Both Mette Fredriksen and Pernille Rosenkranz-Till confirmed to the newspaper Ekstra Bladet that the deal had gone through, although the formalities were not yet complete. Mette said in a written statement: “Buying this house in Mein is the fulfillment of a long-held dream, and we are very excited about it.”.
Frederiksen rejected claims that her friendship with Pernille and the house purchase deal could affect her performance as a government official. She said: “Despite what some may say, one can have friends in politics. It was no secret that we were friends on a personal level, and this was the case before we took up government positions, continued while we were in government, and even now that Pernille is no longer a minister.”.
Frederiksen added: “I have seen that I am once again being accused of being strong. It was said about a minority government, and about a majority government, when the Social Democrats were alone in government, and now that we are with two other parties. But who will be Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, that is the only thing that the voters can decide – thankfully.”.
Pernille Rosenkranz-Till expressed her delight at purchasing the shared summer house with Fredriksen, noting that it had been a long-held dream of theirs. She said, “We’ve had separate summer houses in Mein for many years, and we’ve long dreamed of having a house together there.”.
When Pernille was asked about the impact of their friendship on political decisions, she said: “The world doesn’t work that way. People have alliances of all kinds, but of course there is a very good awareness of whether someone is benefiting from their personal relationships. So sometimes the relationship is more of a liability than an asset.”.
She added: “It is well known that close friendships develop in politics, and this makes them less harsh. We are used to separating our friendship from political decisions, but of course there are sometimes more frank discussions between us because we are friends.”.
She also noted that the purchase of the house was not yet legally complete, but confirmed that the paperwork was nearing completion. She said, “We chose this house because it’s wonderful, and it’s in a great location overall.”.
