Morning Briefing – Friday, November 22

The Copenhagen Post’s daily round-up of the front pages and other major news stories

Nov 22, 2013

More heads will roll
Foreign Ministry officials say the mistakes that cost Christian Friis Bach (R) his position as development minister yesterday are likely to result in further dismissals. Bach stepped down after he reportedly misinformed parliament about his role in an on-going scandal over Denmark’s involvement in GGGI, a South Korea-based climate organisation that is accused of mismanagement. Bach was himself misinformed by a ministry official when he approved changes to the organisation that violated rules for use of Danish funding. The government has now called for an investigation into the situation. “A serious mistake has been made,” Nick Hækkerup, the acting foreign minister, said. “It’s a problem that a cabinet member says something to parliament, and then it turns out that is is actually the information he was given that was wrong.” – Berlingske

Resignation’s timing concerns opposition
The Foreign Ministry should not rely on an internal investigation into order to determine the missteps that led to the resignation of Christian Friis Bach (R) as development minister yesterday, according to the opposition. Among their concerns was the timing of the Bach’s announcement, two days after local elections. Enhedslisten, a government ally, said that an independent investigation could become necessary, but that it was customary for an internal investigation to be carried out first. – Politiken

Exit polls out
Public broadcaster DR has announced it will no longer use exit polls in connection with its local election coverage. DR has been under fire since it became apparent during vote counting on Tuesday that its exit poll predicting major losses for Socialdemokraterne was well off the mark. DR’s management said it had not yet decided whether it would stop using exit polls during general elections, given that it was easier to make an accurate prediction in national races. The announcement come as parliament was calling on DR to stop using exit polls. – DR Nyhederne

More oil for Mærsk
New seismic studies indicate that Maersk may be sitting on larger oil deposits in the North Sea than previously expected. Mærsk’s production in the North Sea has begun to decline, but with the new studies Maersk expected the trend could be reversed. Maersk identified the additional deposits using so-called 4D seismic studies. If it turns out that the results are accurate, it could mean that more oil than previously expected could be retrieved from the Danish sector of the North Sea. The technology could also mean more accurate drilling methods. – Erhverv & Økonomi

Editorial Excerpt | Responsibility
The [resignation of Christian Friis Bach (R) as development minister] leaves behind the question of what kind of working conditions cabinet members face. There’s no doubt that they should accept responsibility for their ministries, but it is necessary to make sure that their portfolios don’t become so all-encompassing that they invite mistakes. There are certain details that cabinet members shouldn’t need to deal with. We should expect them to abide by the rules, but we shouldn’t expect them to be infallible. – Politiken

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