Helle Thorning-Schmidt (54) was Danish Prime Minister from 2005 until she resigned in 2015. In Considerations of the Blonde, she writes about many of her personal experiences of how she experienced being a woman in high politics. According to her, the book is about sex, feminism and mitosis.
She said in a longer interview with Radio Denmark She wants the book to help sustain the metoo debate in Denmark.
Helle Thorning-Schmidt has lived a long life in the highest politics, both as Danish Prime Minister, and then as Senior Director of Save the Children. Photo: Drago Prvulovic / NTB scanpix
Because even as Denmark’s supreme political leader, she has seen, among other things, her hand on her thighs, during official duties.
One of the things I told in the book is that unfortunately I don’t know any woman – no one – who has not experienced some form of transnational behaviour. It could be in the workplace, in the nightlife, in Denmark or abroad, she tells Danmarks Radio.
An episode with the former French president
She highlights one episode in particular in the book, which took place during a state dinner at the French Embassy in Copenhagen, with former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing.
During dinner, she sits next to the ex-president, who holds his hand on his thigh from under the table.
Valéry Giscard d’Estaing was president from 1974 to 1981. He died of coronary heart disease in December 2020. Here from the funeral of politician Philippe Seguin in 2010. FILE PHOTO: Eric Weverberg / pool via AP / NTB
At that time, in 2002-2003, he was the president of the European Convention. He was in his seventies, while Thorning Schmidt was in his thirties. He was president of France from 1974-1981. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing passed away in 2020. Last year charged to a number of women due to cross-border behavior, including by a German journalist, and some of his lawyers flatly refused.
I call the former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing because I think he can handle it. I’m sure he’s done something before. Unfortunately he passed away, so he is no longer with us. But I also know there have been cases in France of inappropriate behavior, so I really feel it’s perfectly fair to say who it was., Thorning-Schmidt tells DR.
She says it was especially dangerous when she was representing Denmark on an official mission.
will not appear weak
She points out that the accident occurred many years ago and she left it behind on the same day and did not use any energy in this aspect. She has previously refrained from talking about her metoo experiences, because she felt that made her vulnerable.
Talking about this is a bit delicate, but now it’s the right thing to do. Because I also like to stress how many women have had bad experiences (…) there is no one type of woman that suffers from this, we actually all have it, she says.
On Sunday she was awarded the “Søstersinn” award from Danish women’s magazine “ALT for damerne” for paving the way and supporting “other women”, according to VG. After Thorning-Schmidt resigned as Prime Minister in 2015, she held the position of Senior Director at Save the Children until 2019.
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