Civil war within the government: We have no trust in S – they don’t even reply to our texts.

The Social Democrats' school proposal sounds like electioneering, says the Moderates, who call the initiative a power grab.

The Moderates have no confidence in a school proposal that was "conceived in the Social Democrats' campaign office." (Photo: © Sebastian Elias Uth/Ritzau Scanpix and Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix)

The Social Democrats' school proposal has sparked a major internal conflict within the government.

The Moderates have little trust in the Social Democrats, whom they accuse of acting like a power-hungry party that no longer even responds to SMS messages from their coalition partners.

When Mette Frederiksen and the Social Democrats formed a government after the last parliamentary election, it was done with promises of stable reforms based on broad agreements.

This was also the case on the school front, where the government reached agreements with the Liberal Alliance, the Conservative People’s Party, the Radical Left, and the Danish People’s Party. In 2024, the parties agreed on a new, comprehensive deal for public schools.

But the era of school consensus—with a united SVM government at its core—may be coming to an end.

At least, the Social Democrats are pushing ahead with their new school proposal (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/politik/overblik-hvad-er-socialdemokratiets-vision-lilleskolen).

Since the school sector is governed by consensus agreements, sweeping changes require support from all parties in the coalition. However, the Social Democrats do not appear to have that support.

This has drawn internal criticism within the government.

"It worries me that the Social Democrats are willing to abandon the school consensus. That would bring us back to a power-hungry Social Democrats from the corona era," says Rasmus Lund-Nielsen, the Moderates' spokesperson on children and education.

Social Democrats' leader Mette Frederiksen (S) said she "preferably" would not abandon the agreement, when the proposal was presented on Wednesday.

"We now need to hear how the other parties position themselves," she added.

Also read: OVERVIEW What is the Social Democrats' vision for 'Lilleskolen'? (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/politik/overblik-hvad-er-socialdemokratiets-vision-lilleskolen)

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**No trust in the Social Democrats alone**

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Rasmus Lund-Nielsen’s party colleague, Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt (M), has little faith in the Social Democrats on the school issue.

"The Social Democrats have, to put it mildly, had a poor track record when it comes to reforming our public school system," he says.

"We have little confidence in yet another school reform hatched in the Social Democrats' campaign office," he states in a written comment to Ritzau.

Rasmus Lund-Nielsen agrees.

Children and Education Spokesperson Rasmus Lund-Nielsen contacted Mattias Tesfaye on Wednesday morning—and has still not heard back. (Photo: © Thomas Traasdahl, Ritzau Scanpix)

"They have made historic mistakes in public schools, including the inclusion law, the full-day school initiative, and the school reform, which were blatant failures. We do not trust them to drive this alone," he says.

It’s not that the Moderates are against investing billions in public schools. The issue is the conditions the Social Democrats attach to the funding—particularly a mandatory class size cap of 14 students in the smallest classes.

"We will also invest in public schools. But we oppose the rigid and overly systematic approach the Social Democrats propose. We don’t believe that’s the best use of five billion kroner annually," says Rasmus Lund-Nielsen.

He argues that schools themselves should have the freedom to prioritize the money.

"We would rather free up public schools. There needs to be more local autonomy. Schools should decide for themselves whether to lower class sizes, hire more adults, introduce school psychologists, or implement other concrete measures to improve well-being."

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**'It sounds like electioneering'**

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For the Moderates' spokesperson, the proposal and the Social Democrats' unilateral push seem to go beyond just public schools.

"It sounds like electioneering. I wrote to the education minister yesterday, 'Shouldn’t we sit down and agree on how to improve public schools?' I still haven’t received a reply," he says.

"This tells me that it’s all about reclaiming votes lost to the Red-Green Alliance and Unity List. It sounds like the Social Democrats are warming up for an election," says Rasmus Lund-Nielsen.

Education Minister Mattias Tesfaye writes in a response to DR that:

"The Social Democrats want to make our public schools better by ensuring smaller classes for the youngest students. The goal of 'Lilleskolen' (Small School) is to create a safer start to school.

Our proposal for a small school is a natural extension of the latest school reform from 2024, which was passed by a unanimous parliament—including the Moderates."

ANALYSIS Mette Frederiksen fires a massive election rocket—now the government is in a self-election campaign, and Christiansborg buzzes with tension (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/politik/analyse-mette-frederiksen-skyder-kaempe-valgraket-af-nu-er-regeringen-i-valgkamp-med-sig-selv-og)

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