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DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

‘Danish royals can’t afford a car’: Former US envoy to Denmark ridiculed over cycling tweet

Carla Sands, the former United States Ambassador to Denmark, has been criticised by Danes including a government minister after claiming large parts of the population cannot afford to own a car.

Former US Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands
Former US Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands has raised eyebrows in the Nordic nations with a misleading tweet about the country's cycling culture. Photo: Hannah Beier/Reuters/Ritzau Scanpix

Sands, who was appointed by former president Donald Trump and served as ambassador from 2017-2021, claimed in a Twitter post on Friday that “in Denmark, middle class people can’t afford to drive a car”.

The former ambassador was ostensibly attempting to make a point about the Biden administration’s policies in the context of increasing petrol prices, which are occurring globally.

People in Denmark “have a bike and take the train for long trips. My embassy driver would bike an hour in the snow to get to work,” Sands tweeted.

The tweet has elicited responses from at least three Danish politicians and many members of the Danish public, with Sands largely ridiculed for the claim.

“According to your theory it is even so bad that the Danish royal family cannot afford a car,” responded Danish Social Democratic MEP Marianne Vind along with a photo of the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Frederik, cycling through Copenhagen on a cargo bike with two of his children.

Using the same photo, another user sarcastically pointed out that it was “so sad to witness a middle class family sharing one bike” in reference to the Danish royals.

“Hello this is Denmark speaking”, a further user tweeted.

“Sounds like your embassy driver should have been paid more. Most of us can afford cars, but public transportation is cheap(ish), greener and often more convenient. Which Denmark did you go to?”, they said.

Former Minster of Transport Benny Engelbrecht wrote that “I can assure you that using the bike for urban mobility is a question of choice, not economy for most Danes. This is for instance me in my time as minister — and don’t worry, we could afford a car.”

Health Minister Magnus Heunicke described the Sands tweet as “misinformation”.

“The Trump-nominated former US Ambassador to Denmark is once again spreading misinformation about us. We like cycling, which is healthy and good for the environment and climate, (this) becomes ‘the middle class cannot afford to own a car in Denmark’. I refuse to believe she doesn’t know better,” Heunicke wrote.

It’s not the first time Sands has faced accusations of misinformation.

In late 2020, she made several Twitter posts following the US election in support of Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud. In one tweet, she claimed her absentee ballot in the state of Pennsylvania had not been registered. This was subsequently debunked.

For what it’s worth as anecdotal evidence: the author of this article lives in Denmark and owns, and frequently drives (despite rocketing fuel prices), a car whilst living in a three-person household (two adults, one child), and has done so since 2020. Until recently, the household’s income consisted of a journalist’s salary and the basic state grant for students, SU.

READ ALSO: How Danish Tour de France preparations will cause traffic delays

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DENMARK AND RUSSIA

Denmark says Russian authorities are responsible for Navalny death

Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said the Denmark intends to make “crystal clear” to Russia its view that Russian authorities are responsible for the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Denmark says Russian authorities are responsible for Navalny death

Rasmussen commented on the matter after Denmark summoned Russian ambassador Vladimir Barbin to a meeting at the foreign ministry in Copenhagen on Tuesday.

“We have summoned the Russian ambassador for a conversation in line with [steps taken by] a large number of other EU countries,” Rasmussen said.

 “We are doing this after discussions we had yesterday because we want to send a very clear signal to Putin that we hold him responsible for Navalny’s death,” he said.

The Foreign Ministry confirmed at around 2pm on Tuesday that the conversation had taken place but gave no additional detail.

Denmark has called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the Russian opposition leader.

Summoning an ambassador is generally considered a diplomatic step intended to send a strong signal of disapproval to the ambassador’s home country.

“This is the diplomatic tool we can use to make it crystal clear to the Russian regime that we hold Putin responsible for this,” Rasmussen said.

The Danish foreign minister said he believes it is “obvious” that Putin is ultimately behind Navalny’s demise.

“This is about a dissident who was subjected to a poison attack. He then travelled back to Russia and was imprisoned in the most wretched conditions,” Rasmussen said.

“So regardless of what the exact cause of death is, it is the outcome of a process where there have been attacks on a person who has spoken out against the regime,” he said.

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