Original subtitles

You want to start a new party?

We are the New Democrats. We must define what we stand for.

Torben, eight of your staff have complained to the executive.

You and I will be seeing more of each other.

Sometimes it's as if we're on our way back together,

and sometimes he's a bit difficult to read.

"Danish pigs are healthy - they're bursting with penicillin"

- The guinea fowl? - Yes, please.

And you ordered the pork?

Can we give him a hand here?

I've got it.

Episode 24 - One man's meat...

Well, then? Whassup, kid?

- Whassup what? - Did you sleep well?

- Gustav sleeps better here. - Yes.

- Maybe I should move back here. - No way you'll ever get round to it.

- Hey, did you talk to mum? - Not lately, no.

She's worried about you, Katrine.

She should probably mind her own business, but I mean...

We'll always be her children, won't we?

How wise you've grown from a life surrounded by pigs!

Right... Have you a sweetheart I'm going to hear about or what?

Give me a break!

- Really? - No!

- Still thinking about Kasper? - Like hell I am!

Maybe you should say good morning to the pigs?

I've seen enough pigs in my life.

- Didn't you get my messages? - I only just turned on my phone.

- Only just turned it on? - I needed a bit of peace.

But we agreed to text how things were going?

- Legally I can do whatever I want. - Legally?

We're legally separated. This conversation shows why.

Nyborg's new lover boy: I CAN'T KEEP IT DOWN

- The whole newspaper's about it! - You've done it too.

Not anymore.

- Any messages? - Ulrik called you.

What happened about our complaint about Torben by the way?

He got a reprimand and now he has regular meetings with Alex.

- Have we got a new lunch service? - No, this is just supper.

I left my son behind at handball,

so now I have to do the shopping twice a week.

We'll need another fridge.

They had this deal. Five packs of pork.

You have a meeting with Alex in ten minutes.

Tell him I'm too busy. There's too much news.

You gotta to see this.

Secret lover chucks up all over ex-prime minister.

- We can use that. - No, we can't. It's too disgusting.

- It's funny! - The News doesn't do funny, Dan.

Give it to TV1 Evening.

We can't agree to halve pig farm inspections.

- Shouldn't we discuss it first? - Why?

We are a party, not three independents.

The government already has a majority in favour.

As a party we have to take a view on absolutely everything.

We desperately need to put ourselves on the map

with a cause to make us visible.

Right now gossip is all the papers are interested in.

- And no, we are not talking that. - It must be so hard for her.

You are so into Birgitte.

It was also rotten to put it on YouTube.

TV1 Evening want Birgitte to tell her version of the story.

We turned them down. I assume you agree with me.

- Welcome to the front pages! - Are you all right?

Yes, thanks, Nete.

So my little supper is stealing the headlines.

- 120,000 hits on YouTube. - We're visible at last!

And it's even true for once.

- A dodgy steak? - Actually no.

He had an allergic reaction because of too much penicillin in his pork.

The Food Inspectors have checked the meat.

A pig that was given an injection of a special kind of antibiotic.

A few days later the pig was slaughtered,

and a mistake seems to have been made which affected Jeremy.

- It shouldn't be possible. - We'll kill the story with silence.

- We don't want it to be an issue. - What if it is an issue?

Tomorrow you have to vote on a bill to halve inspections, right?

And here we have a man who nearly died because of lack of inspections.

- No, it was a one-off. - But it happened.

Fewer inspections will mean more cases.

And TV1 Evening wants Birgitte tonight.

Not on a lousy soft sofa show!

For once I agree with you, Nete.

When British architect Jeremy Welsh

sank his teeth into a nice bit of Danish pork,

he certainly didn't expect that by this morning

120,000 people would've seen him throw it up again.

When the architect's fellow diner is Birgitte Nyborg,

it's front page news.

- Welcome to the studio, Birgitte. - Thank you.

Your slightest movement can be captured forever

by anybody who just happens to have a Smartphone handy.

- How does it feel? - Well, of course it isn't pleasant.

I know I'm the object of attention, and I'm quite all right with that.

I have accepted it, but what I find harder to accept

is that Jeremy Welsh has to suffer such an intrusion.

It can't have been nice for him.

Especially not when he was so sick.

Can you describe what happened?

When did you realise that something was wrong?

Nothing was wrong until he swallowed a piece of Danish pork

containing high levels of antibiotics.

And Jeremy Welsh is allergic to antibiotics.

It was an incredibly unfortunate coincidence.

But that must not deter us from getting to the core of the issue.

What is that, in your view?

The issue is the way we produce pork in Denmark,

and the amount of penicillin apparently necessary.

Now the government wants to ease the regulations for pig breeders

without asking if this is how we want to produce pork in this country.

But back to you, Birgitte Nyborg.

As I see it, we have pushed pig farming beyond the limits.

The government clearly think that the law is there to protect the industry.

But it should protect consumers.

- So it is a matter worthy of debate. - Yes, absolutely.

Get hold of Christiansborg.

Get a comment from Hesselboe. Preferably before the 2nd reading.

Isn't it your food day?

Oh, God damn it, I mean. No, honestly...

Torben, what about all that pork in the fridge?

It'll have to be a takeaway.

- I think we need to have a talk. - Where's Gustav?

I've got a babysitter. Stine from the crèche.

What's going on?

- What do you mean? - Well, we're just not communicating.

You're all cold and prickly.

We said we'd text to say how Gustav was, or send a photo, whatever.

And then I don't hear a thing.

- We're separated, Kasper. - But we still have an agreement.

To send signs of life, right? I think it's affecting Gustav.

How do you think it affects him being looked after by your new girlfriend?

I haven't got a new girlfriend.

- Oh? I found her bra at your place. - You went through my stuff?

- Her things were all over the place. - I see lots of women.

- But not when Gustav's around. - "I see lots of women"?

Nice. You are the father of a little boy.

You can't go round behaving like a fucking teenager.

Fine. We shouldn't have keys to each other's apartments any more.

Have you got stuck, darling?

Don't leave anything behind. We can't come back for your PlayStation.

As if!

Ask dad about that maths project. He'll definitely be able to help.

No, I'll just copy someone else's answer.

The Express online has written a whole load of stuff about Jeremy.

- Aren't we going to meet him soon? - Don't count on it.

- He won't be here much longer. - It's weird.

YouTube shows this bloke throwing up on mum and I've never even met him.

I don't want to meet him. What if he throws up over us too?

- Are you two having an affair? - No, Laura, we aren't.

No need to be ashamed of him if you are. He looks dead nice.

When did you go all nice?

I don't think it's anything you did, don't worry.

Darling, you're stargazing. Do you need winding up? Eh?

Lars Hesselboe, Birgitte Nyborg says you're protecting the pig breeders?

Birgitte Nyborg is not a member of parliament.

But the three independents may express their views to the house.

That's how parliamentary democracy works.

- Did he rise to the bait? - He wouldn't even name our party.

Svend Åge, what do you say to Birgitte Nyborg on animal welfare?

I see her pronouncements as a classical example

of how ignorant third parties are suddenly shocked

by the facts about Danish agriculture.

But she would perhaps rather have the pigs die of diseases

than fulfil the function intended for them to start with.

That was Svend Åge Saltum...

- Saltum can be provoked? - Yes, to put it mildly.

Saltum has a pig farm himself. Any talk of agriculture winds him up.

Perfect. We will provoke him in the house.

- Who does he like least? - He thinks I am far too PC.

- God knows where he gets that from? - Speak for yourself!

- I'm gay and vegetarian. - Jon will do it.

The government has cut a deal with Svend Åge Saltum

that can't be undone, but that doesn't mean it's pretty.

And it absolutely does not mean it is acceptable.

In the last 50 years, we have moved from keeping pigs

who lived in sties, wallowed in the mud, and led proper piggy lives,

to keeping pigs in huge industrial plants.

They never see the light of day. They live hellish lives.

That a pig breeder like Svend Åge Saltum,

who knows that animals are not just insentient machines

but creatures of flesh and blood,

can bring himself to subscribe to such measures

is not only repellent but utterly outrageous.

The member is requested to employ a more formal tone.

Torben, try to switch to Christiansborg.

Perhaps Jon Berthelsen just can't take the heat of the slaughterhouse.

After all, he's already come out of his vegetarian closet.

So just what makes him think that we should take him seriously

when he burbles on about the way we produce pigs, eh?

Because that is what we do. We produce pigs for one purpose.

To slaughter them, chop them up,

sell them to the supermarket and eat them.

- We want him in the studio. - I'll get Pia to phone him.

The Danish pig is the longest in the world

and we are the ones who have made it so. We're proud of that.

P3 is asking if you'll appear early tomorrow.

Well done, Jon. Good work.

We're really beginning to build an issue here.

- But we haven't rattled Hesselboe. - I hadn't really expected to yet.

But we are in the media and Saltum has taken the bait.

Saltum knows all about pig breeding.

To poke him where it really hurts, I need to know more.

Asger, this is Birgitte Nyborg. Birgitte, this is my brother Asger.

- I guess I know who you are. - Do you know what brings me here?

- Not entirely. - Legislation to halve inspections.

- We don't think it's is a good idea. - Oh? Why not?

Well, you behave decently, but what about all the others?

- We mind our own business here. - We don't want to pillory anyone.

It probably doesn't smell quite like Copenhagen.

But, see, we breed pigs.

They're cute, aren't they? When do they get to go outside?

Outside?

- They don't get to go outside. - But they used to?

Many years ago. Not any more.

They get a mouthful of fresh air on their way to the slaughterhouse.

Why are they caged?

Sows can easily crush their piglets if we don't use farrowing crates.

- Can I pat one? - Yes, you can.

- Is it nervous? - No, it's fine.

Gestation crates keep the sows from moving about, too.

For how long?

From conception till they farrow. 115 days.

How big do pigs get nowadays?

Up to two metres.

Two metres, that's just like you.

The gestation crates squash the sows.

- Leaving bruises, right? - They're only good for sausages.

So the inspectors issue warnings.

And those are the inspections the government wants to reduce in number.

Yes. We're meant to put them into sick pens if we follow the rules.

But you don't always get them into the sick pens or kill in them time.

We receive warnings when that kind of thing happens.

We produce more and more. Yet we hardly make ends meet.

It's not easy, I can tell you.

Why not concentrate on quality? Surely size isn't everything?

Nobody will pay for quality.

It would cost me much more than I could ever earn.

Yet we kill pigs all the time.

- You mean slaughter them? - Oh, no.

In Denmark, we destroy 25,000 piglets a day.

- What? A day? - A day.

We want as many piglets as possible, five days after birth.

So the sows have litters that are far, far too big.

No wonder you won't eat them.

- You don't eat your own pigs? - The ones I eat are out the back.

- Outside? - In a pigsty.

Rummaging in the mud the way God made them.

Thank you ever so much. It's taught me a lot.

- Thank you, Asger. - Don't attribute what I said to me.

I don't want to look like some kind of informer.

- Asger, don't be silly. - I mean it, Katrine. Understand?

I am your sister, all right?

Scout's honour.

The debate on the new pig breeding bill is in full swing in the house.

But it really kicked off yesterday, thanks to Birgitte Nyborg's supper.

What is your problem with Danish pig production?

We have moved a long way away from nature.

Quality and animal welfare are apparently issues to be avoided.

That goes for most foods...

The industry knows it's not photogenic.

So we're often given a very different picture

when we shop for its products.

Then we are told the story of the old farm

with the Danish flag flying above the billowing wheat fields,

which is a long way from reality.

Actually, it's the image the Freedom Party uses to sell its policies.

The Freedom Party did not wish to appear tonight.

No. Why discuss a bill for which there is already a majority?

Thank you, Birgitte Nyborg.

Oh, there you are! Now for sport.

You don't bloody well call me in to watch some farmer's show!

- Torben, chill. You must see this. - It's Saltum letting his hair down.

We certainly don't mind showing people

how things actually get done in Denmark today.

You see, we cut off the piglets' tails so they don't bite each other.

We only cut off a third, because that's the rule.

It'd be a dram sight much easier if we could cut off the whole thing.

But ignorance has set the limit.

It can't be very pleasant for the piglet.

Pleasant?

No, I'll be damned if it's pleasant.

But on the other hand, it is quickly forgotten.

We'll air it. Hesselboe will simply have to comment.

- For real? - On the 6 o'clock.

And then as a theme on Juul & Friis, right? Sheer genius.

- Excuse me, may I see your pass? - I don't have one.

Torben says the pig story may end up on Juul & Friis.

How very clever of you!

It's just hot air, yet you got yourself a whole load of air time.

Hi, Kasper.

This way.

Right, that's his new girlfriend or what?

I don't keep tabs on Kasper's dates.

He doesn't exactly exercise restraint.

Not with that new one either.

Katrine, how about you and I go out for a glass of wine or two?

Just for the sake of olde lang enmity?

- What do you say to that? - Ulrik, er...

You say, "We'll talk about it," and I'm due in Make-up.

- See you. - Indeed.

- That's good. - Yes.

- Hi, beautiful! - Is that mummy?

- Had a good day? - What a nice surprise!

Yes, I happened to be passing.

Did Kasper say when he'd pick him up?

I think Stine was picking him up today.

She sometimes helps him like that.

I'll just take him with me now then.

It's... I had no idea people did things like that.

- You must've had a suspicion. - No, I had no idea.

Such systematic abuse of innocent creatures must stop immediately.

But your own chairman was wielding the knife.

Can you make such a demand?

Svend Åge has been under pressure because of the witch hunt against him...

relentless persecution.

It started with a speech by New Democrat Jon Berthelsen.

Danish pig production is a vital industry.

The New Democrats will not make unrealistic animal welfare demands.

I can't comment on animal welfare and the Freedom Party.

Danish pig production must continue to be a splendid export success.

But I find the recent debate highly unnecessary and very, very shrill.

He is made of Teflon, that man.

- That was a super story. - Torben?

Hey, we'll talk later, OK? That's fine. Bye.

- Did you see the mail from Alex? - No, why?

"I have just seen a man cutting off piglet tails on the 6 o'clock news.

"Have you considered how many children are watching at this time?

"TV1 is also a family channel.

"I assume you agree on this. Love, Alex."

- Shall I reply? - He has no right to interfere.

It's my decision.

Let me in.

You don't answer your phone. You pick up Gustav on one of my days!

Do you mind not shouting? He's asleep.

I just thought it was sad for Gustav to be looked after by strangers.

You're way out of line.

Am I? OK. It was all too easy to see where your priorities lay today.

Stop turning everything I do against me.

She'll be feeding Gustav soon while you shag one of the others.

- I'm taking him home. - He's fast asleep.

- He's my son and it's my day! - You don't want him when he's awake.

I don't know what has got into you, Katrine.

You want a judge to determine custody?

Yet again, the prime minister puts the lid on a scandal.

But at least we managed to shake up Svend Åge Saltum.

Benedikte Nedergaard has huge support in their party nationally.

Svend Åge has no idea that he's fanning the flames.

No, there are no internal rifts in the Freedom Party.

But what about the dramatic reactions to your piglet show?

Oh, that. All I did was show people how things are done in real life.

We obey all the regulations to the letter.

"To the letter"!

If people can't stomach it, they should stick to celery burgers.

The Freedom party has pursued the same policy for over 20 years.

It's the policy the Danes want and it's the policy we'll continue with.

Inside and outside our party.

- Katrine speaking. - Asger here.

Saltum's farm has also received lots of warnings down the years.

The way he tells lies on TV puts all of us in a bad light. It won't do.

But you didn't hear that from me.

Erik? Saltum breaks the rules too.

That might be something for TV1.

- It'd be unsavoury. - But interesting.

Katrine Fønsmark? What an honour!

Saltum has received a number of warnings,

no matter what he said on your programme.

Fascinating.

I thought you only supplied news to our competitors?

Cut it out, Torben. I try very hard to be even-handed.

So what do you think?

But it looks kind of weird that it's the New Democrats

who are feeding me this story.

Absolutely. And I know you'll check it out before you go with it.

You bet I will.

- OK, fire away. - Listen to this...

- TV1 will follow up on the story. - Super. That's great.

- Anything else? - No.

Well, yes, actually.

Could I ask you for the number of that divorce lawyer you used?

The thing is...

Kasper sees a whole load of other women and that's OK, of course.

But he leaves Kasper to be looked after by strangers.

So I picked up Gustav on one of Kasper's days and...

Does Gustav suffer when he's being looked after at Kasper's?

Does he look healthy? Is he happy?

- Yes, but... - Case closed.

Don't mix your own hurt feelings up with the way you share your son.

It doesn't lead to anything good.

I'll keep you updated on what TV1 says.

I think we should lay it on thick.

Conventional Danish porkers in restricted pens. With lesions, right?

The inspection reports show that in the last year

Saltum's farm has received four animal welfare warnings.

- Let's use them. - What were they for?

Pens too small, sick pigs that should've been destroyed.

- Worse than other farms? - No.

But it means we can show people pigs that are suffering.

That'll make the Danes really happy.

Hey, the Freedom Party is working on an amendment.

- Saltum? - No, Benedikte.

- Nedergaard? - Will he let her?

- She's young. - And fit.

- She's unbearable. - Protector of the little animals.

We need to get Saltum and Nyborg into the studio, right?

Use that tail cutting clip again.

We're making Juul & Friis, not Yuletide Fun at Christiansborg.

And our expert looks like a bloody biker.

Hey, Svend Åge. It's me...

9 million pigs are destroyed a year.

40% of our porkers are diseased when they reach the slaughterhouse.

And c.30 cases of culpable neglect are reported to the police...

- Long time no see. - You're doing well.

What happened to your hair?

- Ready? - As ready as can be.

- No kid gloves, OK? - What else would you expect?

We'll start with an intro, me and Torben, so if you stand back...

Not too far.

Politics has a modern version of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale

about the feather that turned into five hens.

In this version, a simple case of belly ache

is affecting the entire Danish pig industry.

For the New Democrats the crackling consumed

by British architect Jeremy Welsh may prove extremely profitable.

Because it has put Birgitte Nyborg's independents on the political map.

Birgitte, you must be delighted?

Not at all.

Not while Danish pig production is still trying to compete

on quantity rather than quality.

Svend Åge Saltum, hasn't Birgitte Nyborg got a point?

Danish pork exports earn billions of kroner for Denmark year after year.

How does Birgitte Nyborg think Denmark can do without pigs?

I don't think that at all. I want us to do better.

Unlike Birgitte Nyborg, not everyone can afford 250 kroner for a roast.

In the last 50 years, the Danes have doubled their meat consumption.

Yet they want lower and lower prices.

We force Svend Åge Saltum and other pig breeders

to produce pigs that have to be destroyed because they are too weak.

Now that's not good enough, Svend Åge.

How about we stop ascribing human emotions to industrial products?

We make a product for the supermarket.

And it's good enough to be exported to all kinds of other countries.

Birgitte, are you above eating what most Danes eat?

Not at all, but when 40% of our pigs are sick

and 9 million are destroyed a year because we produce too many,

don't we need improvements? You don't even eat them yourselves!

What?

I know a farmer near Randers who keeps other pigs

for his own family to eat.

It's the shopper who gets her purse out.

We produce garbage because that's what people prefer to eat!

The Freedom Party has been bustling with activity

since its chairman declared last night on live TV

that Danish farmers produce what he called "garbage".

A party meeting has just ended...

The political debate over the last few days on animal welfare

has inspired debate within the party.

But everyone in the group is now in line with our official policy.

- Which is? - We speak for the animals.

We demand an immediate ban on tail docking

and the creation of a special animal police force.

You must excuse us, we're going to have talks with the Liberals.

No comment...

No comment!

- The Liberals won't agree. - And Nedergaard won't give way.

Not when she has her entire party behind her.

We're making a difference!

It feels great. Now, get a comment from Lars Hesselboe.

Torben? Hi...

- How are you doing? - Fine.

- Torben, a word. - In my office?

No. Didn't I recommend that you refrain from using the docking clip?

But you used it again. On your own programme.

- Yes. - How do you expect me to react?

That's up to you. But yes, it must be tough on kids,

forced to watch piglets having their tails snipped off.

However, I deemed it necessary for the story.

However, Alex, I have no issue with showing it again on 'Juul & Friis'.

At 10:30 in the evening.

If there are still kids watching, it's not my problem, but the parents'.

Is it good TV to show an old man abusing innocent creatures?

I am head of news, Alex. I decide, that's my job.

I see.

Later, Alex.

Way to go, Torben.

It's a madhouse at Borgen.

Benedikte emerged from her meeting with Hesselboe yelling her head off?

- Smile, Erik! - We haven't won yet.

She knew Hesselboe would never accept her demands.

- You think she'll give in? - She's nothing to gain otherwise.

- If she gives in... - All this will be history.

Hesselboe wants the Moderates to cut out the Freedom Party.

- He won't do that. - But he has no majority.

Hi, Lars.

- Can we meet your independents? - Sure. But use our party name.

My mistake. Will the New Democrats meet me as soon as possible?

Three o'clock?

- We're going to Christiansborg. - I'll just cancel my meeting...

Just me and Jon. To show we are a party and not just independents.

- Hello. - Good to see you.

- You know Christian? - Hi, Lars.

I could've done a deal with the Freedom Party.

- Not with their demands. - Their little amendment?

No, that shouldn't be allowed to take up any more room.

I understand that you have already talked to the Moderates?

I suppose you'll at least let Jakob Kruse emerge hand-in-hand with you?

And agree to harsher penalties for any farmers who do get caught

despite the reduced inspections. Plus a million or two for organics?

Something along those lines.

We believe that Danish pig breeding as it is today is unsustainable.

- We can't put that in our bill. - I realise that.

We want an independent commission to see how bad things are,

and how much it would cost for the whole industry

to convert to greener, more ethical, more quality-minded methods.

You want a government-funded discussion club? You got it.

- But surely that's not all? - No.

You must accept that this deal is not just with the Moderates

and a couple of independents, but with the New Democrats.

We will emerge from our talks side by side.

Our name must be in the press release.

We want to be credited with setting up the commission, too.

- And? - A kind word from the PM.

Let's not get too sassy, Birgitte.

We have created a compromise

that will benefit an important export industry.

It will also save public funds.

I am grateful to the parties who have made this deal.

We're going to set up a commission to examine pork production.

This splendid measure is based on a proposal by the New Democrats.

Over to the Minister of Agriculture...

Cut! Back to Ulrik.

And... to Ulrik.

Pundits say this is a triumph for the New Democrats,

who have now put themselves on the political map.

I can't tell the prime minister to come in earlier

because I have to get home.

Hello? Hello?

Pia says the pork in the fridge belongs to you.

It's disgusting, Torben.

It's got this delicate layer of white fur on it...

I do believe it has passed its use-by-date.

And there's no room for our stuff, either, so...

Unless you're breeding something special, maybe you can remove it?

- Of course. - I don't think...

Of course, I'll chuck it out.

I'd really appreciate it.

As long as it doesn't result in another complaint.

No, Ulrik, it was a great programme.

Pia, what's this about him and Alex? They seem very close...

They've started playing squash together.

So they're showering together.

- I just wanted to say thank you. - For what?

It means a lot to have our old boss back.

When you act like you did today, it makes us proud of what we do.

And not some kind of stupid meta-narrative.

I try to do my best. But it's the whole news desk...

Torben, I just wanted to say thanks.

OK, thanks, great.

Oh, yes...

"Dear Torben, that is the last time you defy me in front of the staff."

"Are you still part of the team? Love, Alex."

You've reached Kasper Juul. Please leave a message.

It's me.

I just wanted to say...

I just wanted to say sorry.

And I think you should pick Gustav up tomorrow.

Yes. Bye.

You're not answering your phone.

Go home.

- What? - I told you.

I wasn't to be quoted. I made that very clear.

- I'm so sorry... - And Birgitte Nyborg goes on TV.

"She knows a farmer near Randers who won't eat his own pork."

- Do you understand? - Yes, Asger, I understand...

I found it out here this morning. "From farmers under the cosh."

What do you want me to tell my wife and kids?

- I wanted the best for... - For you!

Not for the first time.

Goodbye, Katrine.