Danish politicians go to saunas in search of voters during election period

Social Democratic Party candidate and current Minister of Justice of Denmark, Peter Hummelgaard (right), and Social Democratic Party candidate Ida Auken, taking an ice bath in a sauna in Copenhagen. CAMILLE BAS-WOHLERT / AFP During election periods, Danes usually receive cookies and flowers from candidates, but it is less common to find them half-naked in saunas, as is the case during the campaign for the March 24 legislative elections. “It’s a little different, because people are relaxed and we’re closed in there, so we’re not going away,” explained smiling Gitte Droger, a 53-year-old voter who often frequents the sauna at a recreation center in Copenhagen’s Vanlose neighborhood. Two candidates from Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democratic Party met voters for a sweat session, dressed in their swimwear. Representative Ida Auken and Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard teamed up on Sunday to talk to 18 voters about climate, energy, inequality and crime, while splashing water on hot sauna stones. The heat was intense and enveloping, as the audience – also in swimsuits, sitting on towels on wooden benches – listened to Auken and Hummelgaard present their ideas and answer questions. “It’s the first time I’ve campaigned in a sauna,” Auken told AFP. “This entire election campaign represented a lot of new things for me, different campaign activities: playing handball or going to bars instead of sitting at round tables,” he said. Hummelgaard first tried an ice bath between two sauna sessions. “The campaign also has to be fun,” he said. “Real human beings” The Social Democrats, in power since 2019 and at the head of a coalition of left and right, lead public opinion polls with around 21.5% of the vote, although this percentage is six points lower than that obtained in the 2022 elections. Post-election negotiations are expected to determine the form adopted by the next government. In this Scandinavian country, having easy access to elected representatives is almost a given. “It’s important for people to see us in another way, so they can see that we are real human beings, see what makes us tick and regain some confidence,” said Auken, who is running for a sixth term in the Danish Parliament. Visitors to the sauna did not undergo any control before meeting with politicians, and there was no security at the event. Seeing politicians in the sauna is not unimaginable in the country, said voter Miriam Hvidt. “In Denmark, it is not at all strange to see a minister diving into ice water”, he said, adding that it is common to meet politicians in the supermarket or at the cinema. “I can’t imagine that, in a big country like the United States, it is common to see a high-ranking official mixing with the population,” said Hvidt.

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