Gade dropped out of the People’s Assembly debates after focusing on the Port of Esbjerg

In a Facebook post, Søren Gade defends his dual role and explains why he canceled the People’s Meeting.

The Speaker of the Danish Parliament, Søren Gade (V), withdrew from several debates at the People’s Assembly because “the focus was exclusively on me and the Port of Esbjerg,” writes Søren Gade in a lengthy post on Facebook on Wednesday, where he defends his decision to be chairman of the board of directors of the Port of Esbjerg.

“I had been looking forward to the People’s Meeting on Bornholm – to meeting people, listening and taking part in the important conversations. That’s why it hurt when I had to withdraw from several debates, because the focus was solely on me and the Port of Esbjerg. I didn’t want to ruin the debates for others. It wasn’t an easy decision, but I didn’t want to stand in the way of other people’s voices,” Gade writes in the post.

Søren Gade does not elaborate on how the focus on Esbjerg Harbour was expressed during last week’s democracy festival. But both TV 2 and Ekstra Bladet have described how they tried to get an interview with Søren Gade at the Folkemødet on Thursday about the Speaker of the Danish Parliament’s dual role, which has been under scrutiny for some time.

On Friday at the Folkemødet, Søren Gade cancelled all his events. It was due to ‘private reasons’, the Folketing’s administration informed Ekstra Bladet at the time, which had attended an event where Gade was supposed to have participated. Ekstra Bladet wanted, among other things, an answer to why Søren Gade “lied to the Folketing”.

Har kun givet to interview

In May, it emerged that Søren Gade had provided incorrect information to the Folketing. Back in December 2022, Søren Gade explained to the Rules of Procedure Committee that he had resigned from an unpaid position as chairman of the board of directors of the company Tecleaf. This was incorrect.

This followed the fact that TV 2 had for a long period focused on Søren Gade’s role as both Speaker of the Danish Parliament and paid Harbour Chairman. Gade has been criticized for the fact that the two chairman roles could cast doubt on his competence, as the Port of Esbjerg is in the running to become the site where billion-dollar warships will be built.

For a long time, he has not wanted to be interviewed about the case, with the exception of two interviews with JydskeVestkysten and TV Midtvest.

“I have recently been the subject of criticism. I have considered countless times whether I should remain silent or speak up. Now I choose the latter. Not to defend myself with big gestures, but to tell my side of the story,” Gade wrote in the Facebook post on Wednesday.

He further writes that it is “important for me to state that as chairman of the Port of Esbjerg, I neither have nor will have any influence on decisions about where warships are built.” That narrative does not correspond to reality, writes Søren Gade in the post. Gade points out that he “is not breaking any laws” and has “respect that people may disagree with my decision.”

“It is a position I have fought for, invested myself in and am proud of. Just as I am proud of and committed to my position as Speaker of the Folketing,” writes Gade.

In May, a majority in the Danish Parliament’s Rules of Procedure Committee reaffirmed that Søren Gade can continue to be the Speaker of the Parliament and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Port of Esbjerg.

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