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| HELLEN THORNING |
Grassroots
opposition has caused a political storm in Denmark over plans to sell part of a
state-owned energy company to Goldman Sachs.
Opponents are
continuing to sign an online petition, which has collected nearly 200,000
signatures.
The governing
coalition of PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt has been undermined by the row over Dong
Energy, with the Socialists leaving the government.
Recent events are
being likened to the hit Danish political TV drama Borgen.
State-run Dong
Energy has been struggling since plans for privatisations were aborted in 2008,
and it needed an injection of capital.
The centre-left
government is selling a 19% stake to a consortium including Danish pension
funds and led by US investment bank Goldman Sachs.
But the plans,
given the final seal of approval by parliament's finance committee on Thursday,
led to mounting public opposition to what is seen as handing state assets to a
private consortium.
The Socialist
People's Party, one of three parties in Thorning-Schmidt's coalition, is split
over the issue.
Its leader,
Annette Vilhelmsen, backed the plans but quit as chairwoman and pulled the
party out of the government on Thursday, in the face of internal opposition.
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