Mandatory paternity leave an imposition?

The EU Commission wants to make it easier for people to balance work and family life and achieve a fairer distribution between men and women of the tasks of caring for children. But plans to introduce mandatory parental leave for fathers are meeting with opposition from Denmark's conservative and liberal coalition. The country's media examines the government's stance.

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Berlingske (DK) /

Families must be able to decide for themselves

Berlingske agrees with the Danish government's criticism of mandatory paternity leave:

“What we do not want to say is that it is not a good idea for fathers to have a bigger share of parental leave. That would be good for women's prospects on the labour market, for father-child relations, for society and for businesses, which could then make better use of women's talents. Nevertheless individual, responsible families must have the freedom to make their own decision.”

Der Nordschleswiger (DK) /

Only the rich have the freedom to choose

The fact that the Danish government opposes mandatory paternity leave on the one hand but wants to introduce obligatory kindergarten for children from migrant families with its "ghetto plan" on the other is a sign of double standards, Der Nordschleswiger argues :

“It is interesting to note how intensively Denmark's conservative-liberal government is willing to intervene in the family life of socially disadvantaged citizens - and when they come from an immigrant background the level of control could even be described as 'excessively social democratic'. However, making this kind of distinction between people in [the wealthy municipality] Gentofte and [the poor suburb] Vollsmose looks suspiciously like double standards.”