News / EU

Danish environment minister resigns, ending govt. crisis

Saturday, 27 February 2016 3:26 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 27 February 2016 3:41 PM ]

Eva Kjer Hansen, Denmark's Environment and Food Minister © AFP

Denmark’s environment and food minister has announced her resignation, averting a crisis of confidence that had threatened to topple Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen's minority government.

“Today I have announced to the prime minister that I resign from the post as environment and food minister,” Eva Kjer Hansen said in a statement, adding that she did not want to “stand in the way” of the one-party government.

Kjer Hansen resigned on Saturday after the Conservative People's Party, a right-leaning government ally, said it had lost confidence in her in a row over agricultural reforms.

Hansen, who took office eight months ago, had been accused by the Social-Democratic-led opposition and environmental groups of misleading parliament about the environmental impact of a law allowing farmers to use more fertilizers, which could have serious consequences for the environment.

On Wednesday, the Conservatives, who hold six of the 179 seats in parliament but whose support is crucial to Rasmussen's minority government, threatened to join the opposition in supporting a no-confidence vote if the premier did not dismiss Kjer Hansen.

In a statement on Saturday, Rasmussen said he had accepted Kjer Hansen's resignation “with great regret” and that he would appoint her successor “after the weekend.”

Political analysts view the resignation as a victory for Conservative leader Soren Pape Poulsen.

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