Many voters undecided over local elections, company to get fine for violating Russia sanctions, Novo Nordisk board shake-up and more news from Denmark this Wednesday.
Half of voters undecided about who to vote for in local elections
With less than a month to go before the local elections on November 18th, many voters remain unsure where to place their vote according to a major new poll conducted by Epinion for the Constructive Institute.
Over 100,000 respondents answered the poll with 49 percent saying they expect to vote but have not yet decided who to vote for.
Some 41 percent said they plan to vote and “have an idea” of which candidate or party will get their ballot.
The share of undecided voters is in line with previous elections according to Ulrik Kjær, professor of political science and local government researcher at the University of Southern Denmark.
“We know that people tend to decide quite late, often during the campaign itself. One in seven voters only makes up their mind on the final day – some even inside the polling booth,” Kjær told news wire Ritzau.
“So we know many people decide late, and these figures confirm that,” he said.
Foreign nationals are eligible to vote in Danish local elections if they are from the EU or have lived in the country for more than four years.
You can read more here about how to vote.
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Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk to shake up board
Denmark’s Novo Nordisk said yesterday it would replace more than half of its board, including the chair, as the Ozempic and Wegovy maker restructures in the face of rising competition for its anti-obesity treatments.
The company, which recently changed its CEO and announced it will lay off 9,000 employees, set an extraordinary shareholders meeting for November 14th following a disagreement between the board and majority shareholder over its future governance.
The maker of Ozempic anti-diabetes treatment and Wegovy weight-loss drug faces rising competition and announced the layoffs and cost-savings programme last month as it cut its profit growth forecast for the third time this year.
Sydbank analyst Søren Løntoft Hansen told Ritzau that the board shake-up was not surprising.
“The reality for Novo has changed radically over the past year, and this requires a response,” the analyst said.
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Danish company admits breaching sanctions against Russia
The Kolding-based company Alfa Laval is to accept a fine of 100,000 kroner for violating sanctions against Russia, news wire Ritzau reports.
That will mark the first time a company is penalised for breaching the sanctions imposed on Russia in 2022 after it invaded Ukraine.
The case will be heard at Kolding District Court with Alfa Laval set to plead guilty to the offence. The National Unit for Special Crime (NSK) has recommended a fine of 100,000 kroner, which the company will accept.
The offence took place between June and August 2022, when Alfa Laval sold spare parts for a centrifuge worth just over 500,000 kroner to a sister company in Russia on two occasions, Ritzau writes.
Frederiksen questioned over husband’s involvement in Zelensky documentary
Prime Minister Frederiksen says she sees no issue with her husband’s involvement in production of a documentary film about Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Frederiksen said that she had not spoken with Zelensky about the documentary, on which her husband, Bo Tengberg, is part of production.
“Bo has a job. He works in film. I don’t get involved in his work and he obviously has no influence on Denmark’s Ukraine policies,” she told media outside parliament.
NGO Transparency International Denmark has criticised Tengberg’s involvement in the documentary given the personal connection.