Something Rotten in the State

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The Danish government has been brought to the brink by minks, two years after a scandal that saw millions of the small animals killed over Covid-19 contamination fears, the Local Denmark reported Wednesday.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the country will hold early elections on Nov. 1, saying the timing was not ideal in light of the ongoing energy and inflation crises caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The elections were originally scheduled for next summer.

Frederiksen added that she was ready to form an inclusive government in order to break the country’s ‘bloc politics’ system, which sees left- and right-wing parties in opposing factions.

The early elections were triggered after Frederiksen’s coalition ally, the Social Liberal party, threatened to exit the government over her role in the country’s controversial mink cull in 2020, Politico noted.

At the time, the government ordered the culling of 17 million minks over fears of Covid-19 infection. The controversial decision decimated Denmark’s fur industry – the largest in the European Union.

In July, a special committee investigating the culling ruled that the government’s decision was illegal and that Frederiksen’s comments justifying it were “grossly misleading.”

The uproar grew after it was revealed that Frederiksen’s text messages during the culling decision had been automatically deleted, ostensibly for security reasons.

Although the prime minister avoided an impeachment trial, her approval ratings have declined.