Middelfart parties accuse mayor of breaking coalition deal

Coalition parties in Middelfart accuse Mayor Anders Møllegård of breaking the agreement that secured him the post, DR reports. They say he has failed to meet them as required and has not replaced the municipality’s chief executive.

Middelfart’s Social Democrats lost the mayoralty after more than 100 years following last autumn’s municipal election. Venstre’s Anders Møllegård became mayor with the support of the Denmark Democrats, Liberal Alliance, the Alternative and the Red-Green Alliance.

DR has obtained the agreement signed by the four parties and Møllegård. It states that Middelfart Municipality’s chief executive, Steen Vinderslev, should be replaced as soon as possible. That has not happened.

Red-Green Alliance councillor Lasse Schmücker said nine months had passed and that the parties had repeatedly tried to discuss the issue with Møllegård.

“But he has not really wanted to cooperate on it,” Schmücker said.

The agreement also says that Møllegård must meet the coalition parties in person at least once a month to review the agenda for the municipal finance committee. Denmark Democrat councillor Jonas René Jensen said that had not happened either.

“Despite repeated requests, Anders Møllegård has not once been willing to sit down with the people who made him mayor,” Jensen said.

Roger Buch, director of a centre and a municipal researcher at the Danish School of Media and Journalism, described the situation as highly unusual. He said it was rare for parties to disregard agreements made when a municipal coalition was formed, and particularly unusual for an agreement to include a demand for a new chief executive.

However, breaking a written agreement cannot remove a mayor from office, Buch said. Nor can a new election be called if parties withdraw from a coalition during the electoral term. The dispute is therefore most likely to affect cooperation within the municipal council, he said.

Schmücker said he had lost confidence in Møllegård and would not have supported him if he had known how he would act. Jensen said he was also disappointed, but would not demand Møllegård’s removal because the alternative at the time was not better.

Møllegård told DR that he had signed a draft rather than a binding agreement. He had no further comment.