Business leaders say that Thorning-Schmidt’s government is best for competitiveness

A poll of top executives has rated the current government as better for business than the previous Vestre-led regime

Mar 19, 2013

While PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt (Socialdemokraterne) and her party have been taking a daily pounding in the court of public opinion since the release of its growth plan, the Thorning-Schmidt government is riding a rare wave of high praise from the country's business leaders.

Nearly 200 bosses of medium or large-sized enterprises were polled by Berlingske newspaper, and 43 percent of them said that the current government was doing a better job than the previous Venstre-Konservative regime. Only 13 percent said that V-K was better for competition in the marketplace.

"The Thorning-Schmidt government has generally undertaken responsible and courageous 'blue' economic policies, including important reforms and tax cuts," Jim Pedersen, the head of the oil trading company Wrist Group – which last year generated sales of 65.5 billion kroner – told Berlingske. "There was too little accomplished in those areas under the last government."

Another senior executive, Sæby Fisk-Industri's Henrik Mikkelsen, went a step further, saying that "the Venstre government squandered any chance it had to hedge against the crisis".

Industry's praise for the government was partially due to a growth plan which is expected to lessen the overall cost of doing business by ten billion kroner by the year 2020.

The finance minister, Bjarne Corydon (Socialdemokraterne), welcomed the praise from the business community, but denied that the government is practising an economic policy more in line with the 'blue' values of the now-opposition parties.

"Blue policies belong to the blue parties," Corydon told Berlingske. "We have been able to pursue policies on our own terms that allow business to assess that we do more to promote competitiveness than the Venstre government did."

Venstre spokesperson Ellen Trane Nørby denied that her party did too little to promote competitiveness while in charge. She said that many of the current reforms and tax incentives could have been implemented much earlier if Socialdemokraterne and Socialistisk Folkeparti had not blocked their passage during Venstre's reign.