Lars Løkke Rasmussen

Faced with an increase in Qur'an burnings outside embassies, Rasmussen defended a law penalising treatment considered 'inappropriate' of important religious texts. Opposition parties and civil liberties organisations condemned what they considered a retreat from freedom of expression and an indirect return to blasphemy restrictions.

State of the evidence

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Attribution

Political responsibility

Current and former Moderates employees reported a poor working environment, including allegations of workplace bullying, sexism and offensive behaviour involving party officials. A complaint was referred to the labour authority. The party subsequently engaged an independent psychologist, established a whistleblowing mechanism and saw several departures.

State of the evidence

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Direct responsibility

As leader of the Moderates and a key member of the Frederiksen II government, Rasmussen supported abolition of the Store Bededag public holiday, officially justified by increasing labour supply and defence funding. The proposal triggered trade union mobilisation involving tens of thousands of people.

State of the evidence

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Attribution

Shared responsibility

After more than a year of disagreements with Venstre's new leadership, Rasmussen left the party he had once led and subsequently founded the Moderates, a centrist party built around the idea of cross-party governments.

State of the evidence

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Political responsibility

A few weeks before the election, Rasmussen surprised his own party and centre-right partners by proposing a cross-party coalition between Venstre and the Social Democrats. Some allies condemned the announcement as a betrayal or a source of confusion for voters.

State of the evidence

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Directly implicated

Following the loss of government and serious internal tensions concerning his electoral strategy, leadership style and conflict with deputy leader Kristian Jensen, Venstre's national council forced Rasmussen to step down as party leader in late August 2019.

State of the evidence

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Attribution

Directly implicated

Rasmussen's government supported a ban on clothing covering the face in public spaces, a measure effectively targeting the niqab and burqa, among other garments. Approximately 1,300 people demonstrated in Copenhagen on the day it came into force, invoking freedom of choice and religion.

State of the evidence

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Political responsibility

The Rasmussen government launched a strategy to eliminate 'ghettos' by 2030, involving demolitions, housing transformations and criteria notably targeting neighbourhoods with a high proportion of residents of 'non-Western' origin. Residents condemned what they considered ethnic stigmatisation.

State of the evidence

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Political responsibility

Under Rasmussen's government, Parliament passed legislation allowing certain valuables belonging to asylum seekers to be seized to contribute towards accommodation costs. Critics internationally compared the measure to historical confiscations targeting Jews, and it became a symbol of Denmark's restrictive migration policy.

State of the evidence

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Attribution

Political responsibility

Rasmussen's government placed advertisements in four Lebanese newspapers detailing Danish restrictions on benefits, family reunification and residence in order to make Denmark less attractive to asylum seekers. The campaign attracted strong criticism in Denmark and abroad.

State of the evidence

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Attribution

Political responsibility

Receipts showed that Venstre had paid approximately 152,000 kroner for suits, shirts, shoes, socks and underwear for Rasmussen in connection with his representational activities. The same period of media coverage also revealed expenses relating to a family excursion in Mallorca and additional hotel cleaning.

State of the evidence

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Attribution

Personally implicated

As chairman of the Global Green Growth Institute, an organisation supported by Danish public funds, Rasmussen spent more than one million kroner on approximately fifteen trips involving numerous first-class tickets, expensive hotels and chauffeur-driven transport.

State of the evidence

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Attribution

Direct responsibility

During the GGGI affair, it emerged that the organisation had financed a trip to Rio for Rasmussen's daughter. He described the situation as a misunderstanding and reimbursed approximately 27,000 kroner.

State of the evidence

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Attribution

Personally implicated

The Danish presidency of COP15, which Lars Løkke Rasmussen took over during the heads-of-state phase, was sharply criticised by several developing countries for its procedures and the 'Danish text', perceived as a draft prepared with wealthy countries outside the multilateral process.

State of the evidence

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Attribution

Direct responsibility

Danish media revealed that private or questionable expenses — notably restaurants, cigarettes, taxis and hotels — had been reimbursed from public accounts during Lars Løkke Rasmussen's tenure as county mayor and then minister. Following accounting reviews, he and Venstre reimbursed more than 20,000 kroner.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated