Multiple political parties in Herlev Municipality report concerning behavior from Venstre's lead candidate Benjamin Haxha during local election campaigning. Representatives from the Red-Green Alliance, Socialist People's Party, Social Democrats, Conservatives and Liberal Alliance describe similar experiences where Haxha or other Venstre members filmed them while they were putting up campaign posters last weekend.
Henrik Hilleberg, the Conservative lead candidate, expressed strong disapproval. "I've been in municipal politics for nearly 32 years and experienced many elections," he said. "I've never seen anything even close to this. This is far, far over the line."
Haxha declined interview requests but provided a written statement. He explained he made "countless videos" of his posters to document proper placement. "During the day, I experienced my posters being moved or cut down by candidates from other parties," Haxha wrote. "That's illegal, so we started filming if we saw others moving my posters."
The conflict escalated at Herlev Station on Sunday when Hilleberg was putting up posters with his wife. According to Hilleberg, Haxha approached and filmed them while accusing Hilleberg of illegal poster placement. "My wife was sitting in the car and became surprised by what was happening," Hilleberg recounted. "She stuck her head out and said: Shouldn't we try to take this calmly? But she was told to shut up."
Herlev's Social Democratic mayor Marco Damgaard reported a similar incident. He was hanging posters with his brother and brother-in-law when Haxha approached and filmed them. "I've been politically active since I was 16 and put up posters on many lampposts," Damgaard said. "But I've never been filmed by anyone else."
Damgaard emphasized the importance of maintaining respectful conduct. "I think it's important that we don't go around being mean to each other or having to be afraid of each other in an election campaign," he stated.
Road authorities clarified that no laws specifically prohibit moving posters up or down on lampposts, though they recommend ensuring moved posters don't end up in illegal positions.
Haxha previously reported experiencing vandalism against his own posters, which both Social Democrats and Conservatives condemned. "What he experienced wasn't reasonable," Hilleberg acknowledged. "But neither is his own behavior."
In his statement, Haxha expressed disappointment that other parties went to national media rather than contacting him directly. "If anyone feels I or my volunteers have stepped on their toes, I should be the first to apologize," he wrote.
Local election campaigns in Denmark typically involve intense competition for limited poster space on public lampposts, but participants generally maintain cooperative relationships across party lines. The current situation represents a notable departure from this tradition in Herlev Municipality.