Immigration

Frederiksen also became increasingly sceptical of liberal mass immigration as she believes it has had negative impacts for much of the population, a more pressing issue since at least 2001 after the 11 September attacks which intensified during the 2015 European migrant crisis. In a recent biography, Frederiksen stated: 'For me, it is becoming increasingly clear that the price of unregulated globalisation, mass immigration and the free movement of labour is paid for by the lower classes.' Under Frederiksen, the Social Democrats voted in favour of a law allowing Danish authorities to confiscate money, jewellery and other valuable items from refugees crossing the border,despite harsh condemnation from the United Nations Human Right Council and widespread comparisons between the plan and the treatment of Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe. The Social Democrats voted for a law banning wearing of burqas and niqabs while abstaining during a vote on a law on mandatory handshakes irrespective of religious sentiment at citizenship ceremonies and on a plan to house criminal asylum seekers on a bridgeless island on which they would have to stay at night. Frederiksen also backed the right-wing populist Danish People's Party in their paradigm shift push to make repatriation rather than integration the goal of asylum policy. She has called for a cap on non-Western immigrants, expulsion of asylum seekers to a reception centre in North Africa and forced 37-hours-per-week labour for immigrants in exchange for benefits.

Frederiksen has referred to Islam as a barrier to integration, arguing that some Muslims "do not respect the Danish judicial system", that some Muslim women refuse to work for religious reasons and that Muslim girls are subject to "massive social control" and has called for Muslim schools to be closed. In April 2021, Frederiksen announced that Denmark's "ultimate goal" shall henceforth be one of "zero asylum seekers." Danish Integration Minister Mattias Tesfaye added that "no exceptions will be made" towards that goal. Danish Refugee Council's Secretary General Charlotte Slente called the move "irresponsible." The Danish state subsequently ceased the renewal of temporary residency permits to about 189 Syrian refugees, claiming that it is "now safe to return to Syria."

Globalisation[edit]

She has argued that perception of the Social Democrats adopting the Third Way and practicing centrist, neoliberal economics and supporting unrestricted globalisation contributed to the party's poor electoral performance in the early 21st century. Labeling economic foreign policies of Europe as too liberal, Frederiksen has criticised other social democratic parties for losing their voters' trust by failing to prevent globalisation chipping away at labour rights, increasing inequality and exposing them to uncontrolled immigration.

Climate change[edit]

Frederiksen's government made international news with the agreement to reduce Denmark's territorial emissions by 70% in 2030 compared to 1990, the decision to stop oil and gas exploration after 2050 (also driven by the fact that only one company applied for a lease in the latest auction), and the energy islands in the North Sea. Frederiksen publicly said: "I was a social democrat before I got green. And when I wake up in the morning, I am still a social democrat before I am green. More than a year after having set an ambitious reduction target for the decade, there are in March 2021 no concrete plans for dealing with the remaining two thirds of the needed reductions to achieve the Danish 2030 emission target. Green NGOs have largely viewed Frederiksen's Minister of Climate Dan Jørgensen's tenure negatively in 2020. Frederiksen's government has described its climate action strategy as a “hockey stick”-model. This means it plans to await new technologies and falling costs and thus only achieve most reductions at the end of the decade - this strategy has been described by other political parties as a “Bjørn Lomborg” dream. Despite pleas from the UNFCCC,[48] the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Danish Economic Councils and the Danish Council on Climate Change, Frederiksen's government has postponed the implementation of a higher carbon pricing mechanism,even though Denmark was a pioneer with its adoption in 1992.The opposition to higher carbon taxes was positively received by associations representing the major emitting sectors such as the Confederation of Danish Industry and Danish Agriculture and Food Council. As of March 2021, Denmark stands to have a much lower price on carbon than its neighbours in 2030, with consequences such as trucks from Germany waiting to refuel until they are in Denmark to benefit from the low diesel prices in Denmark. Denmark is also one of the four EU countries without carbon taxes on passenger flights.In fact, Frederiksen's government had plans to guarantee domestic flights during the COVID-19 crisis by subsidising domestic flights, a decision decried by green NGOs and the supporting parties Red-Green Alliance and the Socialist People's Party.The decision was not implemented as the European Commission would not approve it due to regulations on state aid. Frederiksen's government entered a formal agreement with the cement manufacturer Aalborg Portland (Denmark's largest carbon emitter standing for 4% of the national emissions) concluding that they did not have to reduce their annual emissions below their 1990 level of 1.54 million CO 2 tons. Previously, Mette Frederiksen had said: "I will chain myself to Portland before anyone is allowed to close them". Similarly, her government has been criticised for allowing state-owned companies to continue the build-out of fossil fuel infrastructure like a natural gas pipeline of 115 km, with an associated socio-economic cost of $113 million for Denmark.] In a formal answer to the Parliament, the Minister of Climate Dan Jørgensen confirmed that the gas pipeline would not reduce the carbon emissions in the short term nor add any jobs in Denmark. As stipulated in the Climate Act, the Danish Council on Climate Change has to make annual recommendations for and provide a status update on the Danish government's climate efforts. In February 2021, the Danish Council on Climate Council does not find it likely that Frederiksen's government will achieve the target of a 70% reduction of greenhouse gases by 2030

Criticisms

Private school case

In May 2010, it was revealed that Frederiksen's daughter, along with the children of several other prominent Social Democrat politicians, was being educated at a private school. Along with her colleagues, Frederiksen was accused of hypocrisy by the Danish press as her party had long seen the promotion of public education as a key policy. In 2005, Frederiksen had openly criticised parents who sent their children to private schools Frederiksen responded to the criticism by saying that her opinion on private education had become more nuanced since her remarks in 2005 and that it would have been hypocritical of her to put her own political career ahead of her daughter's best interest. Immigration policies In an interview with Kristeligt Dagblad, Frederiksen called for the "closure of all immigrant centres" and for the "resettlement of immigrants in North Africa". These statements were strongly criticised by Morten Østergaard (secretary of the Danish Social Liberal Party - Radical Left) and Cristina Narbona (president of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), who accused Frederiksen of xenophobia. However, her statements were praised by Sigmar Gabriel (former leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany) in an op-ed for Handelsblatt. In 2020 and 2021, her government was criticised for refusing to repatriate children with Danish citizenship from Syrian refugee camps, due to their parents allegedly having joined the Islamic State

Outstanding Achievements

Mette Frederiksen invites companies to sign climate contracts It’s time to put real deals on the table. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen wants to sign new climate contracts with the biggest sectors in Danish business in order to reach climate targets. It’s time to put real deals on the table. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen wants to sign new climate contracts with the biggest sectors in Danish business in order to reach climate targets. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (Socialdemokratiet) wants to collaborate with Danish companies in order to reach the government’s target of a 70 per cent cut in carbon emissions by 2030. At the DI Business Summit 2019, she extended a direct invitation to Danish companies to sign so-called climate contracts, in which politicians and companies commit to the green transition.