Thorning-Schmidt: My husband isn't gay. The Danish political world was rocked this morning when PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt (Socialdemokraterne) took a preemptive strike against rumours that her husband, Stephen Kinnock, is homosexual. In an interview with Politiken newspaper, Thorning-Schmidt denied the rumour, which has its roots in the long-running tax scandal surrounding the couple. I have to be honest and say that it was really difficult for our family, particularly for our children, to have to contend with this kind of rumour, the prime minister said to Politiken. Therefore we felt the need as a family to say that just because a claim is repeated often, it doesnt make it true. The couple also now plans to publicly release documents relating to the tax scandal in order to address it head-on. The tax issue dates back to June 2010, when the Copenhagen office of tax authority Skat audited then-opposition leader Thorning-Schmidt and Kinnock, who at the time worked and lived part-time in Switzerland. Kinnock did not pay taxes in Denmark, and the investigation ultimately declared that he did not owe Danish taxes, but that was hardly the end of the story. The confidential audit was leaked to the press, and it was revealed that the Tax Ministrys then-permanent secretary, Peter Loft, had met with Skat Copenhagens director, Erling Andersen, as many as five times, even though the Tax Ministry is barred by law from interfering in specific tax cases. Loft was later fired a few months after Thor Möger Pedersen (Socialistisk Folkeparti) became the tax minister. Peter Arnfeldt, the spin doctor for the then-tax minister, Troels Lund Poulsen (Venstre), was reported to the police for leaking the audit and Poulsen asked for and received a leave of absence from parliament. Even the top aide to former PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen admitted to being involved in meetings about the audit. A commission was established to look into the leak, known widely in the national press as Thorning-Schmidts skattesag, or Taxgate. The homosexual rumours apparently stem from the couples personal auditor in Taxgate, Frode Holm. The commission's investigation turned up a text written by Skat Copenhagens tax director Lisbeth Rasmussen that read: After prolonged discussion, Frode Holm explained that SK [Stephen Kinnock] is bisexual/homosexual. It was the likelihood that that line would come out in public that led to the PMs preemptive strike against the rumour. source Why the need for the announcement?
interesting. about 6 years ago the then prime minister of New Zealand made a similar announcement. the reason was to head off rumours that had been circulating for a while. you have to wonder why people would even want to come up with this stuff ... and why it is that the husbands of female politicians are rumoured to be gay, rather than the wives of male politicians. suspect it reveals something about some people's attitudes towards women in power. would it matter if he was? well it would probably have a negative impact on perceptions of the PM. not because he was gay (I should imagine you have gay politicians in Denmark as we do here), but that it says something about her that she is married to a gay man. it is just dirty politics. that is all, and people who dig up this stuff, or create these umours, are sad little souls.
I thought being gay in Europe was perfectly fine, unless you are gay and walking through a Muslim enclave? _
Well in this case the person to come up with this stuff was actually the couples personal auditor, not usually someone regarded as a sad little soul! The reason was to provide a basis for the PM husband's tax avoidance, all in the article if you had read it. However that's all beside the point as you say what matters if he is and even more to the point why does the PM respond? Its humiliating! Next she will be announcing every time they have had sex to back up the claim in her announcement! It brings the office of PM into disrepute, encourages speculation in private matters and adds to the perception that there is something wrong with being gay or bisexual. There's a lot more to it than just dirty politics.
I don't think its about him being gay ... its more about the PM misrepresenting her personal life ... ie lacking credibility. thats why she has to argue agaist it. the sad little soul coming up with this as somehow related to his tax avoidance ... that says more about him than the PMs husband or the relationship ... so I still think he's a sad little soul .... This kind of personal attack on politicians is becoming more and more common. politicians are not celebrities. They are voted in to represent us and make decisions that should benefit us all. they should be allowed to get on with it instead of having this rubbish thrown at them. and that is true regardless of their politics ... their families ARE NOT fair game for the media..
Once you get an idea in your head you stick to it no matter what! t is related to tax avoidance and the man behind it was not a sad little soul but trying to help the PM's husband out of a squeeze, you just don't realise the way it works. The PM's husband didn't pay tax in Denmark on the basis that he didn't live in Denmark but in Switzerland where his workplace is. There are a number of factors which determine whether one is considered to be resident in Denamrk, the main one being if one is in Denmark more than half the year. At the time this seemed to be a issue and it appears his accountant had a bright idea as an insurance to make the claim that he was gay/bisexual to back up the idea that he had a home in Switzerland in addition to one in Copenhagen. This because where one is "based" is another factor taken into consideration and as he has a wife and two daughters in Denmark this would otherwise point to Denmark as his base. Only an accountant skilled in tax avoidance could have come up with that one but it was with the best intentions! As it happens the tax officials concluded he wasn't in Denmark more than half a year and the ploy wasn't needed anyway. The recent update in the controversy is the claim that the tax office didn't follow the correct method of counting days in Denmark as it should have been a running year rather than calender years but that's another story. So no, it wasn't a personal attack on a politician through her husband. My point is still that she is encouraging rubbish being thrown and a disdain for those who do not fall in with the norm in their private lives.
