Borgen series three episodes 7 to 10,

It is Saturday 14^th December 2013 and the last day of the series Borgen, I am going at lunch time to Newcastle to purchase winkles for tea and then Newcastle play Southampton from the expensive vantage point of a Platinum Club, returning for Strictly Come Dancing semi final and the X Factor final weekend, Now England are struggling to survive changed conditions in Australia who managed 380 odd runs first innings and England in reply 118 for 2 after Carberry played on and Root’s dismissal was confirmed by the third umpire where clearly the electronic evidence would not have given him out although the decision had to stand as the on field umpire had given the player out after an after thought reaction

I missed the last episode of Borgen because I had not noticed that the recording had failed and left it too late to rerecord. I was able to establish that the former Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg had been diagnosed with pre cancerous condition and required radio therapy.

The 7^th episode of the third series starts with the consultant pressing Birgitte to tell her family what is happening, but she insists that she must continue alone and goes from the hospital direct home where her son has delayed going school because of a cycle puncture and her daughter has a late start on Mondays. Birgitte then goes to the office where staff are concerned at the way she appears to be neglecting her duties during the crucial stage when the new party is attempting to establish itself as a political force and in the public mind at a time of crisis because of the International economic crisis,

The governing party is attempting to establish in effect a government of national unity but on their terms and when Birgitte responds to an invitation to meet she is told terms which include abandoning all environmental measures for three quarters of the next decade. She leaves immediately and is seen approaching the notorious leader of the Freedom Party who dismisses her approach reminding that while she had only three seats he now has 45. Birgitte still hiding her condition from her family and political colleagues making excuses and the consultant continues to press her to involve others as she admits she is not sleeping much at night perhaps four or five hours and then feeling tired during the day. She says she needs medication to keep her going for 15 to 16 hours a day after she is caught asleep by her daughter on the very day that the government announces he has called a general election, something which the politicians and TV 1 news station realise he has been planning for months. Birgitte has slept through almost a day of messaging after saying she would be late in because of a dental appointment,

The public broadcasting station TV 1 is also caught out by the General Election announcement where the situation between News head Torben and news editor Pia is tense as she seeks clarification of the nature of their relationship. She has been in love with him for sometime and he responded sexually without thinking of the implications in terms of either her or his wife and family. He has demonstrated a cautious sitting on the fence streak, some would say a cowardly one, in the past, or the Quaker approach of wear thou sword until thou cans’t.

Torben’s immediate boss wants them to win the election in terms of the competition from TV2 but they get off to a bad start as the governing party had immediately arranged for a head to head with the main opposition party the Labour Party trying to turn the General Election into a presidential one sidelining the other parties although Kruse and the New Democrats have done a pre election deal with the governing party which Bent argues will harm them in election.

The consequence is instead of having their previously all party leader debate on the first evening they have to settle for one with the deputies and the main leaders debate the following evening.

We learn that relations between Birgitte’s press director Katrine and Kasper have improved with sharing their child’s care and Katrine almost insists that he has the care for the fist 24 hours after the election announcement and on the evening show it looks as if Torben has a new partner than Kasper. His hair is growing back from the time where he had to shave his head after their son had taken scissors to it when he felt asleep when playing with him. The TV1 team has the brain wave of using GPS to follow what the party leaders are doing 24 hours a day and contact Katrine before dawn to seek her cooperation which will obviously have implications for Birgitte.

The election will be about the economy and the best way to respond to the crisis so Birgitte suggests they turn for help to man they had to abandon because of his previous community party background and Russian links. He has a research programme under way but offers a couple of hours before the evening’s debate. Birgitte recognises they are under funded with less than 1 million Kr in the kitty and will need at least another million which is still insignificant given that the government part is said to have around 45 million and has already booked space in the main news papers. They only have 15 new candidates approved and need at least fifteen to twenty more in order to become a political force and hopefully become part of a governing coalition again.

Because she is tired Birgitte does not prepare as well as she should for the TV debate and this shows in performance when the opposition parties agree she should take the lead on economic questions and emphasise the need to keep the environmental “green” approach. Katrine is fed up because of the refusal to participate on the in the 24 hour coverage with a journalist always on hand 9 in order to protect her position, but after the TV debate fiasco Birgitte realises she has to change her approach, especially after her daughter complains that she had become distant again. The following morning Birgitte makes breakfast and sits the two down and explains she has not been going to gym but for radiation therapy emphasising that the position is pre cancerous but they are on top of the situation but she is feeling very tired. The episode ends as she takes the children with her for the next hospital session.

The eighth episode could have been the last given the momentous events that take place in the course of the hour, or at least the last episode of a season. Birgitte decides that in addition to telling her children she must also advise the party leadership and Katrine arranged for a lead reporter from TV 2 network to interview Birgitte in the office, explain what has happened but that she does no wish to make her illness the issue. There is a great response with lots of flowers at her home including from her ex husband but she says she wants to keep Jeremy at a distance not being able to cope with what is likely to be his reactions. However she finds him at her home one evening saying he is in love with her and has arranged to be there during the days ahead to help.

Despite knowing the predicament she has been in The Moderate party, her old party led by Kruse has been doing a deal with the Labour Party and the Greens, of a new Opposition Manifesto Our Demark which does not mention them because they have not signed up and which does not include issue with which the New Democrats have a different viewpoint with the Moderates. However Birgitte decides that they have to go along with the situation or face becoming spent force before the election takes place and thy concentrate on defining policies which separate them. However during a debate between Birgitte and Kruse about the differences between the two parties Kruse appears to have prior knowledge of the decision to promote wind farms something he has always voted against but now says his party supports their expansion. This indicates that one of three people, ruling out Katrine and Bent have done a deal with Kruse in return for providing information on all their meetings, their tactics and policy programme developments. The approach is to provide of three possible traitors with a false addition and the policy selected by Kruse will reveal the traitor and to everyone’s surprise and disappointment in turns out to be Nete who had regard Birgitte as her heroine and hd been shock by the failure in the fist leaders debate when Birgitte gets the figures hopeless wrong unsure if the police figures are in millions or billions. She has returned to the Moderates from which she originally defected. With Birgitte positive abut her physical health, with the public aware as well as her family and party about why she had been underperforming the position was a positive one.

The last two programmes last night living up to my anticipation and contained some good twists.

At a personal level Torben‘s wife, works out he has been involved with more than a one night stand which he tries to pretend happened when he arrives home in the very early hours and she reveals that when he had been away on a training/conference she had tries o contact him and the office knew nothing of such an event. He is forced to admit that he has had an affairs and that it was with Pia his news editor. That it is with someone with someone with he is working all and every day makes the situation even more unbearable and she insists he must sack the woman or not return home.

He tells Pia he is moving her to documentaries because they are in need of someone with her experience. However with the team horrified this is happening just before the election he realises this is unfair and changes his mind. When his wife finds out she insists he hands over the keys and sleeps at the office. There is a sense later when his wife bring the bys who are missing him of a couple of hours and they go for a walk along the river bank for a meal the boys want a meal comment about the river bus on which has never been and which runs past his office. Hanne comforts Pia about the relationship when she confesses the extent of her affection.

However Torben has what in some respects is a greater challenge to deal with as the creative management boss has decided that they must compete with TV2 in turning the election coverage into a game show dividing the parties into blue and red,, left and right changing the way the debates are presented and planning an outrageous series of changes for the General Election day results programme. Torben rebels before the final debate and is summarily dismissed and leaves the building, goes n the ferry and then arranges to meet his wife for a meal and begs he to take him back and for to return home with her.

In the meantime Pia and his number to have rebelled that the non journalist boss is going to have a hand in the election night coverage and is calling the shots about the way the programme is going to be conducted. Torben is reinstated at leads for Election night and although he insists on going home with his wife she agrees that he should do the programme first. She is their to greet him with the programme ends and Pia is seen being led away by Hanne one of casualties of the series with Torben admitting he had been wrong to respond. The boss tell Torben it was great fun as he departs the building and Torben’s riposte is to suggest that the time he wants fun he should go the to the funfare.

The economist former candidate who is brought back to assist Birgitte by Latrine commences an affair which they both enjoy as Kasper continues to play his part in caring from their son and Katrine also attempts to come to terms with the fact that her new lover is not only twenty years her senior but a late teens son and daughter. They appear cool about their father’s relationship although curious. Katrine finds this situation uncomfortable and at one point make her escape which the father is cooking her breakfast prior to meeting with the rest of the family. At the end of the programme Katrine changes her mind and calls at the man’s home and later is seen enjoying breakfast with the family.

Birgitte’s occasional lover Jeremy also learns of her illness via the media lath given that does not speak Danish is interesting. I also earn that he was never a CEO but an International architect who designed the building in Asia where the international company where she was a board member had built. which their relationship feel even more contrived and designed to bring in even more English speak audience. Her has very little to do in the third season but appear normal, grown up and coping with her mother’s lifestyle remarkably well. Son Magnus get a better part as he becomes anxious about the health of his mother fearing the worst even though she assures she had been given all clear and will go back to see the doc in nine months time. Then when she feels a new lump understandable panic especially as there is delay before she can see the consultant who explains it not more the acculturation of fluid relate to her treatment an which he releases with a syringe and whalah everything is hunky dory again. And hat of the future of her Jeremy who declares his love and has rearranged his globe trotting schedule to be with her. He remains unconvincing throughout.

The main political issue in the ninth episode of the town is how to differentiate themselves from the Moderate party especially after the damage cause by the Nete betrayal which enabled Kruse to switch policies to attack his political craft always just ahead to take their wind.

Birgitte decided to adopt a high risk strategy according to Bent and some of her closest colleagues when choosing to break from the centre left coalition against the ruling party and to attack Kruse know his ability to lose his tamper which he holds together in their first confrontation as she tears up the manifesto.

Being Kruse he launches an aggressive smear campaign using every previous allegation against her. It is Kasper, where I am not clear how is now earning a living missing that 6^th episode, who offers to provide he ammunition discovering that he has covered up a drink driving incident in which he lied ( sounds familiar!) but Birgitte refuses to sink to his level and wants to concentrate on policy differences. However she changes her mind after a journalist door stops her daughter who is understandably upset and she gives the green light Katrine. However at the last moment Katrine also has an attack of conscience after Bent and also the Economics Guru raise their eyebrows. Birgitte is grateful for the second thoughts.

Meanwhile the guru has been using his best students to go through economic programme of tax cuts and expenditure propose by the Moderates under Kruse to find the evidence and does so in time for the last leaders debate and where to avoid what happens before he takes Birgitte through the figures.

The outcome is that the party gains 13 seats in the middle to become key player in the attempts to gain the kind of stable coalition required to see the country through the economic crisis. This is crammed into the first 24 hours although is usually the case negotiates can sometimes continue for weeks until the a last agreement can be established, In this instance the variation are difficult to follow with at one point the left prepared to do a deal with the extreme right The freedom party where the deputy, the woman who seduced number two to Torben to so he will nit be hard on her when they interview has toppled their leader who was against participation in government. He wanted heir party to give expression to view of the common man, the educated, those alienated by the multilateral changes to Danish Society brought about by the widened EEC. An outrageous character their remained something likeable about him despite his outrageous explosions of views and he is seen leaving the parliament building toppled. The deal offered to Birgitte for the leader of the Moderates who is also under fire from his number two and the news later to the right is that Birgitte should become the prime Minister again.

It is something she seriously considers but the final twist she offers the premiership to the existing man on condition he agrees to various concession and her taking the post of Foreign Secretary thus avoiding the inevitable conflict domestic policy. Whether this is a positive or negative development in relation to her lover travelling lover must remain speculation as wall as the impact on children.