The government was dealt a blow in February when defence minister and deputy PM Jakob Ellemann-Jensen took an unexpected leave of absence following a bout with stress.

Troels Lund Poulsen quickly stepped in to fill in as acting defence minister and yesterday PM Mette Frederiksen appointed Stephanie Lose as acting economy minister to cover for Poulsen, who has held both positions since Ellemann-Jensen stepped away.

Hours later in a social media post, Ellemann-Jensen wrote that his health was improving and that he looked forward to returning to the halls of government again. 

When that will be exactly, is still up in the air.

“I’m also aware that I must be ready before jumping into work again. Because I know that you can’t be at 50 percent when you are a minister or party head,” Ellemann-Jensen said on Facebook.

READ ALSO: Defence minister on leave following health scare

Message from Mette
The Venstre boss said that appointing Lose as economy minister would reduce the load on Poulsen and give him more time to focus on matters pertaining to defence.

Frederiksen said she hoped her colleague would return to Christiansborg soon.

“We miss Jakob. We are a collective – we are also three parties that, a little unconventionally, have decided to form this government,” the PM told DR Nyheder.

READ ALSO: Venstre’s “lighthouse” Uffe Ellemann-Jensen dead at 80