Randers council’s promised culture shift stalls as Social Democrats accuse mayor of exclusion

The political cooperation in Randers Municipal Council, long plagued by infighting, is again under fire just months after a new mayor pledged to end its toxic culture, DR reports.

Mayor Rosa Lykke Yde of the Socialist People’s Party (SF) won last November’s election with a promise to overhaul the council’s notoriously poor working environment—marked by shouting matches, offensive gestures, and partisan gridlock. But the city’s largest party, the Social Democrats, now claims little has changed.

“The broad collaboration promised during the campaign simply isn’t happening,” said Social Democrat councillor Anne Hjortshøj, speaking on behalf of her party. She accused Yde’s administration of sidelining opposition parties on major decisions, including multimillion-kroner cuts to social services and other policies affecting residents.

Yde’s governing coalition—a patchwork of the Conservative People’s Party, Danish People’s Party, Red-Green Alliance, Denmark Democrats, Liberal Alliance, Østbroen, and Velfærdslisten—holds a majority, leaving the Social Democrats and their traditional allies, Venstre and the Radical Left, in opposition.

Hjortshøj dismissed suggestions of hypocrisy, given her party’s own history of dominating council decisions. “What matters is consistency between campaign promises and actions,” she said. “They pledged a new direction and broad cooperation. That’s not what we’re seeing.”

Other coalition partners, however, rejected the Social Democrats’ criticism. Denmark Democrats, the Red-Green Alliance, and Østbroen all defended the current collaboration.

Yde acknowledged the challenges but insisted progress had been made. “Culture doesn’t change overnight, but I see councillors pulling in the same direction far more than before,” she said. “The trench warfare is over.” She cited compromises on issues like drinking water policy, a new northern swimming lake, and social services funding—areas where the Social Democrats secured concessions.

Communal researcher Roger Buch of the Danish School of Media and Journalism noted that Randers’ council has cycled through periods of dysfunction for decades. “Exclusion is inherent to majority politics,” he said. “The Social Democrats are experiencing what others have for years.”

Yde maintained that her administration had delivered on its pledge of broader solutions, despite the criticism. “If we’re honest, decisions now reflect wider input than ever before,” she said.