Danish minister steps down to avoid coalition crisis

Danish Minister for Environment and Food Eva Kjer Hansen on Saturday announced that she is stepping down to avoid a possible withdrawal of support for the ruling coalition by the Conservatives.

"I have informed the prime minister that I am going to resign from the post as environment and food minister," Hansen said in an official statement.

"I've been happy every single day that I have been in charge of the new Environment and Food Ministry. But I will not stand in the way of the second term of (Prime Minister) Lars Loekke Rasmussen government," Hansen added.

The 52-year-old has recently been under pressure after being criticized for misleading parliament about the government's agricultural reform package.

Denmark's opposition parties on Thursday submitted a motion of censure against the minister with the backing of a minor ruling coalition partner, the Conservative Party, which has repeated that it had lost confidence in Hansen.

Rasmussen's Venstre party, or Liberal party, came to power in June 2015 with 34 seats in the 179-seat parliament, backed by the Danish People's Party with 37 seats, the Liberal Alliance with 13 and the Conservatives with six.

If the Conservatives withdraw its support, Rasmussen will have to call a new election, which he said was a "bad option."

Rasmussen earlier said that he had "full confidence" in the minister, saying he is more likely to call a new election than to fire the minister.

The Danish parliament has never in practice voted on a motion of censure as either the official in question has chosen to resign before the vote, or the prime minister has called an election. Endi