Same-sex dispute heating up again

MP Johan Dahl has broken ranks with the coalition regarding the debate on parental leave for same-sex couples.

He has announced that he backs a proposal from the opposition to accommodate same-sex couples in the law on parental leave (barsilslóggávan).

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Dahl has been unavailable for comment, but he has issued the following statement:

“As a democratically elected representative of the Faroese people, who elected to me to make laws that are intended to provide equal rights to all citizens, I cannot accept that we as a coalition government refuse to grant minority groups such as same-sex couples and their children the same legal rights to parental leave as the rest of the country’s citizens.”

 >> SEE ALSO Parental leave system “discriminates”

This has upset a number of coalition members, who say that Dahl is in direct breach of an internal coalition agreement not to support proposals from the opposition.

“My view is that a coalition member who does not abide by the coalition agreement is not part of the coalition,” MP Bill Justinussen, of coalition party Miðflokkurin (the Central Party) said yesterday.

Strong support from Dahl’s party

Thirty-two members of Dahl’s party, Sambandsflokkurin (the Union Party) today issued a public statement announcing their support for Dahl’s decision in this matter.

“This is a matter of principle, and Sambandsflokkurin must stick to its partty value of allowing its MPs to vote in accordance with their personal beliefs on matters of an ethical nature,” said party member Anna Falkenberg.

When asked whether Sambandsflokkurin should allow this core value to put the coalition at risk, she said that this is a matter for the government to decide on, not for ordinary party members.

Read the Faroese version of this article here

Translated by prosa.fo

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