Fock off: Alternativet leader resigns after troubled year

The appointment of Josephine Fock as leader in February led to a wave of resignations that the party has yet to recover from

Luke Roberts

Nov 16, 2020

Having helped to found the Alternativet project in 2013, Jospehine Fock was controversially appointed the party’s leader early this year.

Now, in leaving her position, she states that “the task of uniting the party has been too difficult”.

From 2015 to 2018, Fock was an MP, acting at various times as party spokesperson on finance, justice, and immigration, among other things.

In 2018 she gave up her seat in favour of a new position as director of integration at Dansk Flygtningehjælp.

A divisive force
Her combative style during her time as an MP left many feeling that they had no choice but to leave when she landed the top job.

Upon her ascension, board member Marianne Karlberg and former political chief Leila Stockmarr opted to leave their positions at the party.

These initial departures were followed shortly after on the parliamentary side by the exit of four of its five MPs: Uffe Elbæk, Rasmus Nordqvist, Susanne Zimmer and Sikandar Siddique.

This exodus left the party with just one sitting MP: Torsten Gejl.

For his part, he thanked Fock for her efforts and was unequivocal in his claim that he should not be the party’s next leader.

TOP STORIES

“Talents, start using AI tools now,” says Siri and Change.org founder

In an exclusive interview with The Copenhagen Post, the founder of Siri and Change.org, and currently VP of AI Experience at Airbnb, gives young talents advice on how to deal with the job market changed by artificial intelligence.
Testing free school meals for 20,000 kids and tax deduction for homeowners in 2025 Finance Act

The government has reached an agreement on next year’s Finance Act with SF and Radikale Venstre. A test on free school meals for a limited number of children will be introduced. Homeowners will get more options for deductions for home improvements
Make your voice heard as an expat

In my last op-ed, I made the case that we, expats living in Denmark, need to step up if we want to tackle the headaches that seem baked into expat life—e.g., counterintuitive laws and endless paperwork. With almost 16% of Denmark’s population made up of internationals, we actually have the numbers to influence real change. But after publishing the last op-ed, several readers contacted me and asked: Okay, but what can we actually do?
Danish politicians will double life science exports in a few years

“Strategy for life science” is a policy agreement to support the pharmaceutical industry’s opportunities to double exports to DKK 350 billion towards 2030
Royal House unveils new portraits of King Frederik and Queen Mary

Ten months after Frederik went from crown prince to king, new civil portraits of the new royal couple have been taken.
“Without internationals, we wouldn’t have the people we need,” says Fujifilm

Fujifilm’s Hillerød facility thrives with a diverse workforce, employing over 1,800 people from more than 65 nationalities. Morten Munk, Director of Global Alliance Management, highlights how the company’s rapid growth relies on attracting international talent due to Denmark’s limited pool of scientific professionals.

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

5 Dec: A guided tour of Christiansborg

Career

“Talents, start using AI tools now,” says Siri and Change.org founder

In an exclusive interview with The Copenhagen Post, the founder of Siri and Change.org, and currently VP of AI Experience at Airbnb, gives young talents advice on how to deal with the job market changed by artificial intelligence.
“Without internationals, we wouldn’t have the people we need,” says Fujifilm

Fujifilm’s Hillerød facility thrives with a diverse workforce, employing over 1,800 people from more than 65 nationalities. Morten Munk, Director of Global Alliance Management, highlights how the company’s rapid growth relies on attracting international talent due to Denmark’s limited pool of scientific professionals.
“Now the biggest challenge is to retain internationals”, says Ferring

Mads Hougaard, senior HR director at the pharmaceutical company, explains that “it is also a challenge for society itself. I think collaboration between institutions, companies, and stakeholders could be beneficial.”

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Jobs