Denmark's most experienced citizen advisor says colleagues face systematic obstruction from municipal administrations. Seven advisors support his claims, describing backstabbing, undermining, and surveillance. These officials should monitor whether municipalities follow the law and help citizens navigate bureaucracy. Instead, their watchdog role creates such conflict that many become ill from workplace stress.
Bjørn Brøndum Pedersen experienced this firsthand after joining Nyborg Municipality as a citizen advisor in January 2021. He suffered a heart attack from a blood clot on April 8 this year and went on sick leave. The pattern suggests systemic issues rather than isolated incidents.
Citizen advisors serve as public watchdogs within Denmark's welfare system. Their job involves ensuring local governments comply with regulations while assisting residents trapped in bureaucratic processes. Yet the very administrations they monitor appear to be resisting oversight through hostile tactics.
This situation reveals troubling power dynamics within Danish local government. When the officials meant to protect citizens from bureaucracy become targets themselves, it raises questions about accountability in Scandinavia's famously transparent societies.