The Moderates party has criticized the opposition for acting too quickly in response to a recent case involving a parliamentary seat offer. Henrik Frandsen, the group chairman, stated that the opposition’s eagerness to target the government with legislation against the purchase of mandates seems premature.

The issue arose after journalist Mads Brügger revealed that Lars Løkke Rasmussen allegedly offered Mike Fonseca 370,000 kroner to resign his parliamentary seat. In response, the opposition is pushing for a ban on this practice, requesting the Parliament’s administration to draft legislation against buying or offering money for a mandate.

Frandsen argues that the Moderates’ offer to Fonseca was not fundamentally an attempt to buy his mandate but rather an effort to assist him in a challenging situation. According to Frandsen, Fonseca would have received less money by accepting the party’s offer compared to remaining in his position.

Frandsen believes the opposition’s proposal is not well-considered and could have unintended consequences. He suggests that it could affect Danish politicians offered positions in the foreign service or other high-paying roles that require them to resign their parliamentary seats.

He cited examples such as MP Anette Lind, who was offered the position of Consul General in Flensburg, and EU Commissioners Dan Jørgensen and Margrethe Vestager, as well as Michael Aastrup, recently appointed ambassador to the Council of Europe, as instances where politicians have been offered higher salaries to leave Parliament.

Frandsen concludes that the opposition has been too quick to rule out any form of financial gain associated with leaving a parliamentary seat, suggesting a more cautious and thorough approach is needed.