admin
October 15th, 2013

Share

UPDATE, 12:02: A Radikale spokesperson has shot down fellow party member Anna Mee Allerslev's proposal to merge the councils Frederiksberg and Copenhagen. Malene Borst Hansen, who is the party's spokesperson on council matters, told Ritzau that the government has no plans to merge the councils.

ORIGINAL, 10:51: Copenhagen City Council should annexe Frederiksberg and create one super-sized council according to Anna Mee Allerslev (Radikale), the deputy mayor for employment and integration.

To the casual observer, Frederiksberg looks like just another city district, though the council is actually a self-sufficient enclave buried within Copenhagen.

At nine square kilometres and with around 100,000 residents, Frederiksberg is a fraction of the size of Copenhagen, which covers 77 square kilometres and contains 560,000 residents.

Better services
Allerslev argues that combining the two would give residents better services and more jobs.

“We can save a lot of money on administration that could be put toward services for residents,” Allerslev told DR Nyheder. “It would also become a ‘super council’ that would attract investment and jobs and be better able to compete internationally.”

Political differences
There are some fundamental political rifts that make it unlikely that Frederiksberg will be swallowed up within Copenhagen, however.

Chief among them is that Frederiksberg has always been run by the right-wing Konservative party, which has provided a lower tax rate for its residents and better infrastructure for drivers.

Copenhagen, however, has always been run by the left-wing Socialdemokraterne party with strong influence from the far-left Enhedslisten.

Allerslev's proposal arrives ahead of the local government elections, which are scheduled for November 19 and which are open to EU residents and foreigners who have been registered in Denmark for more than three years.