Archive post: »It is foolish to play for high stakes with a bad hand…« · 2020-06-04

• Halldor Henriksen — Mentioned in the current archived text
• Mads Sandemann — Mentioned in the current archived text
• Peter Hansen — Mentioned in the current archived text

Source title: Det er dumt at spille højt spil med dårlige kort på hånden…

Text version dated 8 Nov 2021

Det er dumt at spille højt spil med dårlige kort på hånden… – særligt hvis man er en dårlig taber Den 27. maj vedtog et overvældende flertal i Sønderborg byråd at støtte op om forvaltningens anbefaling og sige ja til en nedrivningstilladelse for Skansegården. Den demokratiske afgørelse var baseret på dokumentation fra diverse fagfolk og burde have sat punktum for en sag, der har fyldt en del i medierne i det sønderjyske i langt over et år. ejeren, den nye ejer af Skansegården, vandt. Venstre og DF tabte.

Resultatet var baseret på veldokumenterede fakta. Klar information, som heldigvis fik lov til at være afgørende for flertallets beslutning – selvom Venstre blandt andet gennem deres nære samarbejdspartner, JydskeVestkysten, prøvede at forvirre billedet med mange forskellige kreative virkemidler helt op til de sidste minutter før afgørelsen. En anden taber var JydskeVestkystens lokalredaktør Halldor Henriksen, som tidligere havde stemplet netop den dokumentation, som afgørelsen hvilede på, som fake news.

Et af de mindre tiltalende udspil fra JydskeVestkysten og Venstre var et forsøg på at miskreditere ejeren, ved at antyde, at han var skattesvindler. Det skete dagen før byrådsmødet og viste med al tydelighed, det som havde været tydeligt i flere uger: at Venstre var løbet tør for saglige argumenter. Det viste også, at de havde mistet fokus på bolden, og nu gik direkte efter manden.

Historien, som er uden hold i virkeligheden, blev, ganske som mange andre angreb på Skansegårdens ejer, bragt i JydskeVestkysten. Få dage efter dette udspil, understregede Chefredaktør Mads Sandemann endnu engang, at det faktum, at Venstres gruppeformand Peter Hansen er næstformand i Jysk Fynske Mediers bestyrelse, ikke farver avisens redaktionelle linje. Faktisk var det budskab så vigtigt, at det blev formidlet via mail til alle avisens abonnenter.

Set udefra virker det, som om virkeligheden er en anden. Derfor er der næppe tvivl om, at mediets abonnenter, der må formodes at dække en stor del af det politiske spektrum, kan forvente meget mere selvfinansieret propaganda for Venstre. Der er i skrivende stund allerede kommet adskillige artikler om Skansegården og ejeren, siden afgørelsen faldt i sidste uge - og bunken vokser stadig.

Vi er trætte af sagen. Det er du sikkert også, men den ser ikke ud til at få lov til at dø foreløbig. Venstre i Sønderborg tabte ikke denne sag på grund af mystiske politiske konspirationer, men på grund af manglende argumenter… og inkompetent ledelse.

Alligevel ser det ud til at Venstre, også landspolitisk, vil forsøge at bruge sagen til egen vinding. Det mest interessante spørgsmål er: Er det overhovedet muligt for Peter Hansen og Venstre, at opfinde konspirationsteorier, der er så langt ude - at JydskeVestkysten ikke kritikløst videreformidler dem? (Opslaget har tidligere været bragt på vores Facebook side) Er den frie presse blot en illusion? https://www.facebook.com/DybbolBankeSkansegaarden/posts/1560141354338765

This is an automatic reading translation. The source’s allegations and assessments have not been independently confirmed through translation. Check wording, qualifications and meaning against the preserved Danish original. Some retained numbers may use Danish separators: a dot for thousands and a comma for decimals. Check amounts against the Danish original.

It is foolish to play for high stakes with a bad hand… especially if you are a sore loser. On 27 May, an overwhelming majority of Sønderborg city council voted to support the administration’s recommendation and approve a demolition permit for Skansegården. The democratic decision was based on documentation from various professionals and should have ended a case that had occupied much of the media in Southern Jutland for well over a year.

The owner, the new owner of Skansegården, won. Venstre and DF lost. The result was based on well-documented facts.

Clear information which, fortunately, was allowed to determine the majority’s decision, even though Venstre, including through its close partner JydskeVestkysten, tried to cloud the picture with many different creative devices right up to the final minutes before the decision. Another loser was JydskeVestkysten’s local editor Halldor Henriksen, who had previously labelled the very documentation on which the decision rested as fake news. One of the less appealing moves from JydskeVestkysten and Venstre was an attempt to discredit the owner by suggesting he was a tax fraudster.

This happened the day before the council meeting and showed very clearly what had been apparent for weeks: Venstre had run out of substantive arguments. It also showed they had lost sight of the ball and were now going straight for the man. The story, which has no basis in reality, appeared in JydskeVestkysten, just like many other attacks on Skansegården’s owner.

A few days after this move, editor-in-chief Mads Sandemann again emphasised that the fact that Venstre’s group chairman Peter Hansen is deputy chairman of Jysk Fynske Medier’s board does not colour the newspaper’s editorial line. In fact, that message was so important that it was emailed to all the newspaper’s subscribers. Seen from outside, reality appears to be different.

There is therefore hardly any doubt that the media outlet’s subscribers, who can be assumed to represent a broad part of the political spectrum, can expect much more self-funded propaganda for Venstre. At the time of writing, several articles about Skansegården and the owner have already appeared since the decision last week – and the pile is still growing. We are tired of the case.

You probably are too, but it does not look as though it will be allowed to die down any time soon. Venstre in Sønderborg did not lose this case because of mysterious political conspiracies, but because of a lack of arguments… and incompetent leadership. Nevertheless, it looks as though Venstre, including nationally, will try to use the case for its own gain.

The most interesting question is: Can Peter Hansen and Venstre actually invent conspiracy theories so far-fetched that JydskeVestkysten will not pass them on uncritically?

This is an automatic reading translation. The source’s allegations and assessments have not been independently confirmed through translation. Check wording, qualifications and meaning against the preserved Danish original. Some retained numbers may use Danish separators: a dot for thousands and a comma for decimals. Check amounts against the Danish original.

It is foolish to play for high stakes with poor cards in your hand… – especially if you are a sore loser

On 27 May, an overwhelming majority on Sønderborg’s council voted to support the administration’s recommendation and approve demolition permission for Skansegården.

The democratic decision was based on documentation from various professionals and should have drawn a line under a case that had occupied considerable space in southern Jutland’s media for well over a year. The owner, the new owner of Skansegården, won. Venstre and DF lost.

The outcome was based on well-documented facts. Clear information that fortunately was allowed to determine the majority’s decision - even though Venstre, including through its close partner JydskeVestkysten, tried to confuse the picture with many different creative devices right up to the final minutes before the decision. Another loser was JydskeVestkysten’s local editor Halldor Henriksen, who had previously labelled the very documentation on which the decision rested as fake news.

One of the less appealing moves from JydskeVestkysten and Venstre was an attempt to discredit the owner by suggesting he was a tax fraudster. This happened the day before the council meeting and showed very clearly what had been apparent for weeks: Venstre had run out of substantive arguments. It also showed they had lost sight of the ball and were now going straight for the man.

The story, which has no basis in reality, was published in JydskeVestkysten, just like many other attacks on Skansegården’s owner.

A few days after this move, editor-in-chief Mads Sandemann once again stressed that the fact that Venstre’s group chairman Peter Hansen is deputy chairman of Jysk Fynske Medier’s board does not colour the newspaper’s editorial line. In fact, that message was so important that it was emailed to all the newspaper’s subscribers. Seen from outside, reality appears to be different.

There is therefore hardly any doubt that the media outlet’s subscribers, who can be assumed to represent a broad part of the political spectrum, can expect much more self-funded propaganda for Venstre. At the time of writing, several articles about Skansegården and the owner have already appeared since last week’s decision - and the pile is still growing. We are tired of the case.

You probably are too, but it does not look as though it will be allowed to die any time soon. Venstre in Sønderborg did not lose this case because of mysterious political conspiracies, but because of a lack of arguments… and incompetent leadership. Nevertheless, it appears that Venstre will also try to use the case for its own gain at national political level.

The most interesting question is: Can Peter Hansen and Venstre actually invent conspiracy theories so far-fetched that JydskeVestkysten will not pass them on uncritically?

Is a free press merely an illusion? Photo: Sønderborg Kommune