Borgen (2010) s03e05 Episode Script

1 You can't live like you lived before you had Gustav.
- Do you mind? - Who's acting responsibly here? Go home.
Sometimes it's seems like we might get back together and sometimes he is a bit difficult to read.
- I have to go.
- Take care.
Are we going to meet him? You must declare that this deal is not just with the Moderates and a couple of independents, but with the New Democrats.
Refer to us as a party.
It is a highly significant victory for the New Democrats.
It puts them on the political map.
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions" - old proverb - When the girls appear, we roll.
- Okay.
Action! Are the girls in the background? In a basement in Vesterbro, three captive Romanian girls are forced to have sex with 10 men a day.
This is the dark face of prostitution in Copenhagen.
They service men who are not in the wrong.
Prostitution is legal in Denmark for customers and practitioners alike.
I'll call you.
Erik! Welcome to the New Democrat group office.
My goodness! You said it was cramped.
Good news.
Just 300 more signatures and we'll have the 20,000 we need to run for election.
- Well done.
- Fantastic.
Pernille Madsen, what about the Romanian girls? - It's appalling that this - Oh, yes.
Miss Tinnitus.
can go on in a society based on law.
- What are you going to do? - The government refuses to act but the Labour Party will try to create a majority in the house in favor of a ban on what's always been a crime against women.
- She gets shriller and shriller.
- Madsen is furious But she is correct.
She just has a very annoying way of being it.
Oh, so you are up to speed, I see.
And that is good.
Pernille Madsen will be in this room in a moment.
- Hi.
- Hi, Pernille.
Hi.
May I sit over there? Of course.
We want a ban on prostitution.
It must be made illegal to buy sex in Denmark.
- Only the buying and not the selling? - Criminalizing the girls won't help.
- We need to hit the customers.
- Like in Norway and Sweden.
Have you asked the other parties? The Moderates and the Solidarity Union are in.
If we can persuade the Freedom Can you convince Saltum? No, but I have asked Benedikte Nedergaard.
She represents the more modern wing of the party.
She is willing to talk.
If we get them then we can form a majority to defeat the government.
"THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY" Thanks.
It'd be a real blow for Hesselboe.
It makes sense for us to join for strategic reasons.
And we'd look like a true party of the center.
Media-wise it's a good cause.
Loads of headlines in prostitution.
Absolutely.
Ah.
Time to vote.
The amendment to the marginal zone bill.
Oh, my! How exciting! - Where is Jon? - In the USA.
Why? Prostitution and sexual policy is his area.
I'll run it by him, but we're going to have to act quickly this time.
Yes, but Jon, we haven't had a policy on prostitution before.
Personally I am moderately in favor of a ban.
I can't say I have considered the topic in much detail until now.
Tactically it makes sense.
Sounds great.
I would like to read a new study.
Can't you email it? I have got to go.
Let's do that.
Bye.
New sneaker? I had just given him a new pair! Weren't they the right brand? Huh, Magnus? Hi.
What are you doing? Muesli.
No.
Supper's in half an hour.
Christ! Christ? Where did that come from? Probably from me.
He is being quite difficult at the moment.
- And you reward him with new sneakers.
- Yeah.
To keep the peace? - I'd do the same thing.
- Mmm.
We're lousy parents.
Can you do me a favor? Sure.
Can you take the kids for the next couple of days? Swap days with me? Sure.
Is it work? They are big enough to be left on their own a bit.
Yes, but it isn't work.
What is it then? A gentleman is coming over.
Oh, okay, Jeremy? Isn't it time they met him? No, it's not like that It's kind of Oh.
- Thanks.
- See you, then - See you.
- Sure.
- Bye, darling.
- Bye.
Torben.
Hey.
Are you okay? Yes.
But things are a bit tricky at home.
- Torben, stop it.
- Why? - People can see.
- They can't.
- Yes, they can! - No.
Torben, don't.
Torben, stop it.
You are due at the creative workshop.
- I can't be bothered.
- Now.
Goodbye.
Pia.
You are working really hard on your relationship to me as your boss.
And your department is achieving fantastic ratings.
I am very pleased.
Here's something I've been thinking of.
It's pretty exciting.
What if we sex-segmented the news just a little bit? Women primarily watch the 6:00 p.
m.
news and men the 8:30.
Women like all the domestic, intimate stuff, as we know? Put more of that on the 6.
00 and keep the heavyweight foreign politics stuff for the men.
What if something big in foreign politics happens just before 6:00? Oh, yeah, they can be on the 6:00.
But we'd keep the big analysis for the 8:30 edition.
Don't just agree with me! I want to hear what you think.
Well, I think I don't like the idea of sex-segmenting the news.
All right, we'll leave it be for now.
That is fine.
What else do you have you for me? I hear management is talking about canceling the twelve o'clock news.
Well, it has lousy ratings.
Must ratings be the only criteria? We want news here to be a serious brand.
So we won't touch the 12 o'clock for now either.
- No? - Sure.
Here is the news.
Good morning.
The prime minister is refusing to comment on the current prostitution debate.
- Hello, darling.
- Hi, Mom.
Good morning.
Hello, darling.
Hi.
I was wondering if you'd like to put him to bed this evening? Shall we read a bedtime story tonight, you and me? Yes, darling.
The case of the Romanian girls has emphasized how important it is to act quickly.
Today the Labour party, the Greens, the Solidarity Union, the Moderates, the New Democrats and the Freedom Party unite to Hey, she's a bit premature - Good morning.
- Good morning.
Pernille has just announced on the news that we have agreed to her bill.
That was damned quick.
Tell me what you're thinking.
What happened to those girls in Vesterbro is already covered by the penal code.
Rape is and so is kidnapping.
But Erik, the case about the Romanian girls is a kind of lever.
It can never be acceptable for women to be traded as goods.
But it is already illegal.
My wife is - Black.
- A lawyer.
Her firm does a lot of pro bono work for sex workers.
She's told me a few things that surprised me.
Such as? There's very little trafficking in Denmark compared to the media attention.
- There are very few girls on the street.
- What is your point? You're criminalizing something that is actually already a crime.
A few facts wouldn't do any harm.
My black wife has given me some.
The facts will be ascertained when the bill is drawn up.
Pernille Madsen seems incredibly determined.
When you start debating it's just that you all seem very emotionally involved in this case.
I am primarily tactically involved.
We can hurt Hesselboe.
This could become law any moment.
A law based on tactics, emotions - It could quickly become - A botched law.
- Yeah.
- Don't worry.
They put me in this apartment, and then The clients come and and they tie me up and and forced me And they forced me That's what we are up against.
- It is very disturbing.
- It really is.
This was a film about trafficked woman.
How much do we know about the Danish girls who work in brothels? They are as much victims too.
I don't believe you can separate the two.
We have to criminalize the customers.
I agree.
- Any comments on the bill? - Just one small detail.
We want harsher penalties for the Eastern European and African traffickers.
Ah, yes, the evil foreigners.
We want a general crack-down.
We'd like to focus on the girl's and it's a good opportunity to set up some safe injection sites in Vesterbro.
Today we just need to agree on a ban and sign the provisional bill.
We can sort out the details later.
I'll start with my signature.
Benedikte? Thanks.
Let's not rush it through without being properly informed! - What? - This requires more deliberation.
We are equating prostitutes with trafficked women.
But any prostitution means that women are treated as goods.
It's not that simple.
And as this conversation shows, we all have different agendas.
But do we all agree on a ban in principle? I can't sign this until we know a bit more.
We are united here from the extreme right to the extreme left.
I am sorry.
Why hesitate? We'll end up as the ones who refuse to help the poor girls.
Opposing reckless legislation that's rushed through is one of our founding principles.
We can't abandon it just to score a tactical victory.
We need more research.
Let's get started.
The case of the Romanian girls has really caused a stir.
Some parties want to criminalize the purchase of sexual favors.
NEW DEMOCRATS ABANDON DEAL Success seemed on the cards.
But Pernille Madsen, what went wrong? Birgitte Nyborg pulled out.
She's just asked for more time, right? It is very unfortunate that we are throwing away the opportunity to act quickly to help girls very much in need of protection.
I do hope she will come to her senses.
- Good night.
- Good night.
I put a towel out for you.
I am sorry if I was a bit harsh earlier.
Children are an upheaval.
The rest of you seem to make it work.
We split up before he was even one.
I was 25 when I had Asger and I was completely lost.
I had an affair when Asger was 6 months old.
What? With who? Johan Mikkelsen.
The man next door? Okay.
Does Dad know? No.
I never told anyone.
Okay.
Life is a mess for all of us, darling.
Nobody prepares us for the upheaval of having a baby.
To suddenly to be a mother.
You did a good job.
- Good night.
- Good night.
We want a bit of time.
No, we haven't taken sides.
GIVE ME A BREAK! We want to think things through before we legislate.
Bye.
We've found a unique position.
Forty people have asked for comments.
The NGOs, including Refuge, are really unhappy.
Michael Laugesen is happy though.
Birgitte Nyborg had the opportunity to protect these girls.
But her old craving for power has been re-aroused.
Has Hesselboe tried to buy her off? Shut up! And who'll pay for her opportunism? The poor girls we saw yesterday who are selling their bodies Thirty people have resigned from the party since yesterday.
- I did try talking to her.
- She just asked for more time! It is really unfortunate for a female former prime minister to dither on a case that is about the abuse of women.
Not all prostitutes feel abused.
Not if they're traumatized enough and think they made the choice themselves.
It's not as simple as that.
Maybe it is here.
But not where I come from.
- And where's that? - The non-leafy suburbs.
Regular lower middle class.
If the only alternative is a job at the supermarket, it's a real choice.
A girl from school got a job as a hostess at the local night club.
She was the prettiest girl in school.
She was very popular.
And prostitution didn't make her any less popular.
- But it's a slippery slope.
- For some.
She loved it.
Has anyone phoned not to yell at us? Yes.
Helene from SWD.
Sex Workers of Denmark.
It can't do any harm to talk to her, Katrine.
- SWD represents prostitutes? - We prefer "sex workers".
- You give legal and tax advice? - And general professional guidance.
We also try to combat prejudice.
And there's a lot.
So it is a big deal to come here.
Most of your members are Danish girls who work in brothels? They do account for 80% of all sex workers in Denmark.
And they not just girls.
They include a lot of mature women, too.
- Would you like some? - Thanks.
What do you think about the ban? I believe it turns us into victims.
It's patronizing.
I have trouble with the idea of the "happy hooker.
" It's weird to associate "happiness" with a trade.
We don't talk about the happy nurse or the happy policeman, do we? You have 200 members out of perhaps 3,200 prostitutes in Denmark.
A mere fraction.
We'd have far more if it wasn't such a stigma to go public.
Do all these women who work in secret share your views on a ban? It's a job where buyer and seller both get something out of the transaction.
No drugs are sold, no violence is committed.
Where is the crime? The girls on the corners in Vesterbro Yes, they must be given help if they need it.
But a ban won't help them.
A ban just expresses a moral view held by certain members of society.
You think that supporting a ban is prudish? I respect your efforts to help these women.
I don't just help them, I am also a sex worker.
Wow! Thank you! She was a prostitute.
- Katrine has just met a - Sex worker.
That's what she'd prefer.
She seemed very sharp apart from But what did she think of the bill? She opposes it.
She says it makes victims of them.
"We collect taxes from them but we won't recognize their trade".
But her opinion may not be enough.
She makes sense but also is just one of several thousand.
And the tax thing is right, but it is a very technical argument.
It is not too late to go back to Pernille Madsen.
- Erik, what were you telling me? - A new study of the similar Swedish ban.
Research shows that it is ineffectual.
There's been no drop in prostitution but more girls street-walking.
And a steep rise in assault and rape.
Due to fear of arrest, girls have to accept work without a chance of appraising customers.
- So a ban endangers the girls? - Yes.
It opens the door to pimps.
It'd be good tactics to support a ban but do we want the state to regulate our sex lives? Actually I know of a couple of cases where it would help.
Katrine, I think we're ready to go on TV with arguments for opposing a ban.
- Erik, will you do it? - No, thanks.
I'm an old heterosexual man married to a beautiful young African woman.
Not the right signal! I'll do it.
Educated women regard prostitution as an assault on women and a zone in which to wage their gender wars.
They are very influential.
So Nyborg is being tactical.
It doesn't seem very tactical.
I think she is just using her head.
We know you love legal prostitution.
Men screw around anyway.
Better they go to a pro.
Hanne, you can't be serious.
You can't compare prostitution to adultery.
So I should feel less guilt about going to a prostitute than an affair? Maybe not in your case.
Did you want to say something, Torben? Did Alex dictate any more dramatic cutbacks? No further cuts.
And the 12 o'clock stays put.
Well done, Torben.
- Yes? - Good job.
First, she wanted to ban prostitution.
Then she asked for more time.
Where do you stand now? The New Democrats can't support a ban like those in Norway and Sweden.
There, life has become more dangerous for the girls most at risk.
No smoking! Thanks.
- You're not used to it.
- No.
I am not a good smoker.
- Thanks for a great night, by the way.
- You too.
Up for a rematch? No.
Last time, I won.
So you did.
Better not, then.
- Right.
- Right.
Call me if you change your mind.
I will.
Right now, the girls can just go to the police.
This study shows that the Swedish ban has not had the desired effect.
Shouldn't we heed the facts? There are loads of facts on the table and they all support a ban.
You haven't asked the prostitutes.
I listened to the experts.
So sex workers don't know their own trade? Prostitution is not a trade.
Do we agree that prostitutes in Denmark pay tax to the government? They charge for a service.
Now, that's a trade.
We can agree that prostitution is a grey area in legal terms and you apparently want it to continue to be so, since you oppose a ban - Is that what you want? - Absolutely not.
What I want is enlightenment before we legislate.
That's how we used to do it in this country.
Let's have a public hearing.
I have to go, okay? Good luck with the cricket.
Yeah.
I love you too.
- Hello.
- Hello.
Mmm.
That was my oldest son, Alfie.
He says hi.
Hi.
What have you told your children about me? I am just curious.
- Not that much, really.
- Hmm.
You were great on the news.
- Yeah? - Mm.
Which of my arguments did you like the best? Impossible to say as I couldn't understand any of them.
We are going against the ban.
Good.
I was surprised to hear that Denmark was in on that.
Scandinavia has always been known for its sexual free thinking, so it seemed weird that you were banning something that the world loves you for.
- How about a drink? - Yes, lovely.
It's quite tricky politically.
Um The girls are so afraid to be stigmatized, but we can't get in contact with them, and, um the customers as well.
They're ashamed.
Sounds like Britain.
Well, I guess it's the same everywhere.
No, I don't think so.
There are some cultures where it is generally more accepted.
And some places where it is not considered so morally wrong.
Well, you certainly seem very liberal on the subject.
I don't see anything wrong with it as long as both parties consent.
And have you yourself ever been Have I ever visited a prostitute? Well that's quite a subject for a late night natter, isn't it? Yes, I have.
I travel a lot.
All around the world.
Often on my own.
So you've done it often? No.
Just a couple of times.
Haven't you ever had sex just for the sake of it? Yes, but that's really not the same, is it? Why not? Because of the money.
Sorry, but I can't help finding it degrading to buy a girl like that.
- I thought you were working against a ban.
- We are.
But You're buying a service.
You don't buy the person.
Hmm.
Okay, so now you have found something out about me that you are not so keen on.
It doesn't have to be a problem.
It could be thrilling.
We need to have everything ready for the news at 12:00 tomorrow.
Yeah.
Probably just the cleaners.
Thanks for helping me out.
This prostitution thing is certainly big.
The research is fun.
Why people have sex, when they have sex, how often they have sex, how they have sex - What can sex do? - Did we split up because of no sex? I've been thinking it did take me a long time to get back into action.
- I should have given it priority.
- You didn't turn me on any more.
The sexual side died for me when we became a family.
I couldn't figure out how Sure, it was your job to lust for me with my hormones and milk and I couldn't figure out how to reconcile you being both a mother and a lover.
Family life scare me.
There is something wrong with me.
- I should not have talked you into it.
- Don't.
You mustn't say that.
Because Gustav is the best thing that ever happened to me.
And I wouldn't want children with anyone but you.
Thank you.
You'd better go.
I would agree that instinctively one may want to ban it.
Thanks Sometimes I wonder, am I just being prudish? Once at a meeting of EU ministers I talked to female counterpart about the impossibility of having a love life in such a position.
But that you still have needs.
She told me she sometimes bought a male escort.
Just cash on the table.
No guilty conscience.
Why is it so cool for a female politician to do it but gross when it's an ordinary man? - Hi, Mom.
- Hi, darling.
- Here's the cardigan and these pants.
- Cool.
I can't go home.
Mom's secret lover is there.
Wow, it's late! Aren't you in a rush? A real rush.
Say hi to Jeremy! Birgitte? Pernille Madsen is having a hearing, and this time prostitutes are invited.
Good.
TWO WEEKS LATER Hi.
Okay.
With pleasure I welcome you to today's hearing on prostitution in Denmark.
Our panel of experts will look at every conceivable angle.
Our first speaker is the sociologist, Professor Jytte Hansen.
Go ahead.
Thank you, Pernille.
Denmark was a pioneer in abolishing slavery in 1792.
Can we permit slavery in the sex industry today? "It was like ordering a pizza".
That's how a 17-year-old boy describes his visit to a prostitute.
Will we accept such an attitude about women? The purchase of sexual favors has been banned in Sweden because we realized that prostitution is nothing but sex-based violence.
The state must intervene when poor citizens compromise their dignity.
There has always been a stigma and a hatred towards my trade.
We are a small group that lives outside the prevailing mores.
We're tolerated more than permitted.
We're regarded as victims.
But many of us who've chosen the profession are not victims.
For us, a good day is not when there are no clients.
A good day is when we have lots of clients.
Thank you for your opinion.
Our clients are not sex offenders.
They are ordinary citizens.
Sandra, you were a prostitute.
What was your experience? I was a prostitute for five years and it was profoundly damaging.
I was the victim of incest as a child so my sexual boundaries were completely erased I am sorry for you, but the trade can be good for other people.
I didn't know it was harming me.
That only occurred to me later.
It took me years of therapy to understand.
Sandra's experience is akin to the Stockholm Syndrome.
The prostitute simply doesn't realize she is harming herself.
I'm not the victim of Stockholm Syndrome or a traumatic childhood.
I am adult.
I chose my occupation freely.
No woman chooses to sell her body voluntarily.
You are deluding yourself.
It is also something the john claims to feel better.
It is precisely the same as when adults have sex with children and claim that the child was party to it.
After 100 years of feminism you are equating women with children.
Women are as capable of genuine consent as men.
Studies show that 70% of former prostitutes have PTSD.
That is one study carried out among street prostitutes in South Africa, Turkey, the US, and Zambia.
Many of the respondents were homeless, addicts, or victims of war.
Is that representative of prostitutes in Denmark? Let's look at statistics from Refuge's shelter in Copenhagen.
NUMBER OF WOMEN AT THE REFUGE As you see the girls suffer from huge social and mental problems.
Most are drug addicts or alcoholics.
As we see, the number seeking sanctuary has been growing rapidly.
Odd.
Those figures don't match ours.
You don't like studies, it seems.
But we are talking facts here.
Maybe you fantasize about life as a happy hooker.
But you're just renting out your vagina and mouth by the hour.
Well-functioning women don't do that ten times a day.
It's typical of prostitutes to accuse society of stigmatising them You did really well.
Listen Hi, Phillip.
I tried to call but I think your cell phone must be off.
But Give me those damned loan papers.
- May I? - Sure.
- You seem a bit - Have you ever been to a prostitute? Well, a man can only deny it.
Not today.
Of course not.
How did it go? The hearing? The hookers are the victims of abuse.
The customers are psychopathic sex offenders.
- That's it.
- Ah.
But then I looked at the statistics.
There are some 600,000 transactions in Denmark a year.
Let's say there are a number of repeaters At a minimum, there are 100,000 men who frequent prostitutes in Denmark.
They can't all be psychopathic sex offenders.
A considerable number of ordinary men also frequent prostitutes.
- Mmm.
- Ordinary people.
Family fathers.
- Husbands.
Ex-husbands.
- You are the mother of my children.
I have never slept with anyone but you.
That's just how it is.
Helene? I just turned a customer away.
I couldn't do it after yesterday.
We had no idea it would turn out like that.
I have been a sex worker for 12 years.
I have never felt humiliated.
At that hearing, I felt like I was being raped.
How should they legislate if it was up to you? What would you want? Stop the police from turning the place upside down on the pretext of protecting Tax Office staff.
Let us hire receptionists without them being penalized for immoral earnings.
They want to take our taxes but not to give us rights.
And those studies they manipulate the numbers.
And nobody cares.
After all, we're just whores.
- What's wrong with the figures? - The Refuge figures are a sham.
Why would the Refuge lie? They are funded according to how many girls they help.
We're not the only ones who charge by the customer.
Release the figures immediately or we'll go to the parliament.
We're trying to get the official figures but it appears Helene was right.
The Refuge adds the new figures to last year's.
Many women are counted again as new entries.
There were 400 repeats last year, out of 1300 clients.
- Which means another 40% in funding? - And there are political reasons too.
They want to inflate the problem.
They are all for a ban.
- We're getting the info? - Nete is.
There are bigger villains than those trying to help.
They're cooking their books.
But the means do not justify the ends.
She's gunning for the Refuge.
The good people who help the prostitutes? Yes, exactly.
Torben, can we run this? I mean, people love them If they're frauds, they're frauds.
Get Birgitte and Pernille for the 6:00.
Hanne, you handle it.
You sure Hanne should do it? You can't do everything.
Torben? - Torben? - Yes? Hanne has just started on the 6:00 p.
m.
The story has been running on my news program so far.
I don't mean to pressure you but You should give it to me for 8:30.
- Mmm.
Okay, fine.
- Great.
- Will you ring Madsen and Nyborg? - You're doing them? Yes.
Thanks.
I don't believe it.
The number of street prostitutes is not rising as the figures claim.
Pernille, your figures don't match the facts? The Refuge is undermanned.
It's a regrettable lapse.
To put it mildly.
There's 400 too many out of 1300.
And Pernille shares responsibility? I have talked to loads of the girls.
I know what I'm talking about.
When you say girls, you mean street prostitutes.
They account for just 20% of the total number of prostitutes in Denmark.
We must get these things right.
What we need to get right is stopping girls from being sold.
Not on the street, in a brothel You can't base legislation on your moral scruples.
All legislation is about morals.
The moral aspect is whether we want to be a society with room for those who think and live differently.
I wouldn't choose to be a sex worker, but I accept that some women do.
These women need help I am pleased you want to help them, Pernille Madsen.
So why not listen and help those who want to accept your help? Birgitte Nyborg, what is your suggestion for a policy in this area? We believe sex workers should have the same rights as every other taxpayer.
Hi! Hi, Birgitte.
Really nice work.
Fantastic.
Yeah? Would you like a beer? It was elegant, to the point, and you weren't condescending.
Pizza? Just a minute, just a minute, here we have lost another 20 members.
It is simply beyond belief! The banning wing is still united.
Where does the government stand? We're about to hear.
Birgitte Nyborg says we should listen to the prostitutes.
Unlike the previous government, my government listens to those we legislate for.
So we will listen.
- To the prostitutes too? - I understand they prefer "sex workers".
- Shouldn't we use their term? - Might he do more than just listen? Might he even be persuaded to give sex workers some rights? It'd be the second time we supported the government.
But haven't we reached the point where we should ignore tactics? And Hesselboe's final remark was an open invitation.
But how do we sell this to him in order to ensure their rights? What if we suggest a special police task force to combat trafficking? Yes.
They can't say no to that.
But who else will join us? We still don't have a majority.
How about Kruse? He is getting more and more right wing.
For him, state intervention in people's sex lives is no fun.
Put out some feelers to Kruse and onto Hesselboe.
Got it.
- Cheers.
- Cheers! We can still win this.
Hello? Hello.
What are you doing here? I am on my way to Helsinki again.
Thought I'd stop in Copenhagen and take a chance.
Maybe I should have called? No, it's good.
I have the kids from early tomorrow afternoon though.
I'll be gone by then.
Great.
Okay, I'll just, um, I'll just get ready.
This is all very nice.
You think so? Well, I think we can say it's just on the wrong side of shabby chic.
What's the matter with your hand? Oh, I think It's these two fingers.
I think a nerve got stuck or something.
I keep having - Did you call the doctor? - No, I don't have time to see a doctor.
You know I have to tell you that I have noticed you barely eat anything and you hardly ever sleep.
I think tomorrow morning we need to call your doctor.
Okay.
Kruse is on his way.
Who's going to seduce him to our side? It's Erik's turn, in this case.
Why? I had sex with Kruse a few years ago at the party conference.
- How impressive.
- Yeah, bad move.
He has no respect for me.
And you had no respect for yourself.
Why must everything be about sex? He'll be here in a minute.
What's the best way to get him? You're the one who slept with him! Kruse is vain.
Flatter him.
Offer him the chance to rub shoulders with the PM.
Yeah? Jacob Kruse is here.
- Send him in.
- Good luck, Erik.
Nete? Karoline? Hello, darling.
What are you doing here? Since you couldn't be there.
Last day of school.
For God's sake! Hey.
- I didn't know you had a visitor.
- This is my wife Karoline.
- Okay! - Alex.
- Hi, Alex Hjort.
- Karoline.
I have heard so much about you.
I just dropped by to tell him how much we miss him.
He spends most of his time here.
He is very hard-working.
We really appreciate him, so Nice to see you.
In that case I'll go home.
See you later.
Bye, baby.
- Nice to meet you.
- Likewise.
So Torben, listen I need you to talk to production about streamlining the twelve o'clock.
Is that Pia? Yes, that's Pia.
If you want to keep it you'll need to cut back.
- Can you give me a budget tomorrow? - Yes, of course.
Lovely wife you've got there.
She is smoking hot.
Well done you.
Leaving already? Thought you said your children were coming.
Would you like to stay and say hi? Yeah.
- Are you sure it's had enough? - Yes, I think so.
- I think they are here.
Okay? - Okay.
Hi, kids.
I have someone you should meet.
This is Jeremy.
Jeremy, this is Laura.
Hi.
- Hi.
Nice to finally meet you.
- Nice to meet you too.
And Magnus.
- Hi, Magnus.
- Hi.
- I am Jeremy.
- Hello.
- Have you made some tea? - Will you? I have made you something that I think you might quite like.
This is a classic English dish.
It's called bread and butter pudding.
- It's just toast.
- Tell him it looks delicious.
- It looks great.
- Yeah? It looks terrible, doesn't it? - No.
- Think I'll put it back in the oven.
- Football! - Yes, your mother tells me you're pretty good at football on the PlayStation, yeah? Yes! So am I.
So, how about a game? - Yeah.
Sure.
- Okay, let's do it.
- Shall I let him win? - No, wipe the floor with him.
He's cute.
We have to produce a budget.
- I'll look at it tonight.
- Pia.
I'm sorry about my wife.
That she showed up.
- I had no idea.
- That's quite all right.
Okay.
I'm really sorry I made you do all this extra work.
We agreed I'd present a reduced budget.
We just don't have the money.
I am on your side.
You know that, right? I also want to circle back to gender-segmenting the six o'clock.
- I thought we'd discussed that.
- Surely it's not too bad? Your staff are great and can easily make it a bit fluffier.
- Have a chat with Pia about it.
- Sure.
I've noticed you two really get along.
What do you mean? Take it easy, Torben.
I'll stay out of your business.
I haven't mentioned it to anyone.
We're meeting the government to talk sex worker rights and we want you to come too.
This time they will listen.
You've managed to win me over.
You couldn't have found a greater skeptic.
Okay.
Great.
I really do think you should have rights.
I just don't understand how you do it.
I give people pleasure.
But you sell your body! No, I sell a service.
- To anyone who wants it.
- No.
To most who want it.
Everyone deserves some type of tenderness and intimacy.
Don't you feel used? Why? It's all by my choice.
I'm good at my job.
My clients are happy.
So if you want to know, I feel strong.
Desired.
Okay.
Surely there are days when you just don't I mean Some days are less fun than others.
Just like in your job.
Yes, there are.
Thanks.
Maybe the day you were told to fight for our rights was one of them.
- But it's the most intimate - Not for me.
- There's sex and there's love.
- I suppose I dream of them united.
I do unite them.
With my husband.
Haven't you had one-night stands? Completely casual? Yes.
Sometimes sex is just sex.
- Things are gonna get interesting today.
- I bet.
Who are you sending? My Minister of Justice.
And the New Right are coming.
We hope for an agreement.
We're listening.
We're here.
Hi, Lars.
Say hello to - Of course.
Lars Hesselboe.
- Helene.
We want to tidy up the legislation on prostitution.
I would like to say that I personally feel I've learned a lot because I insisted on really examining the facts.
It is an area that arouses strong feelings in huge numbers of people.
Especially when you realize that perhaps things are not quite the way you'd always imagined.
The rules now are unclear and illogical.
You can sell sex but not run a brothel.
Yet that's not enforced.
Receptionists and accountants can be charged with immoral earnings unless they can prove that it is only a secondary source of income.
There are many ambiguities in the legislation as our proposal shows.
In short, we want to secure sex workers rights.
We envisage licensing to control who runs this kind of business.
You're on.
- Break a leg.
- Thanks.
The Danish sex clinics have regular conditions and regular hours.
The number of customers is between 10 and 40 a month.
There is no research to show that sex workers are more emotionally damaged than average.
It is not unusual for sex workers to enjoy their jobs.
Otherwise, they would find something else to do.
Thanks for your input.
Thank you.
We want to considerably increase efforts to combat crime in connection with prostitution.
We want a police task force to combat human trafficking and exploitation.
Okay.
Thank you, Birgitte.
That was most informative.
We'll discuss with our parties and get back to you as soon as we can.
- Thanks.
- Bye, Erik.
Your specific measures on human trafficking are most interesting.
They are a yes.
Sex workers rights are a vital part of our proposal.
Birgitte, you know there are limits to what we can go along with.
Surely you hadn't expected You're talking about special legislation to the benefit of, well Hookers.
You said that, not me.
What did he say? He said no.
Unfortunately for Nyborg, the government was not up for it.
Her fight for sex workers rights ended in much ado about nothing.
Prostitutes will remain in the same grey area as before.
And who are the losers? Let's ask the girls in Vesterbro.
Yes? It's Alex.
I just had a meeting nearby.
I thought I'd see if you were in.
- Come on up.
- Thanks.
What was this meeting about then? It was just a meeting in the vicinity.
Come in.
Okay.
BORGEN is a work of fiction inspired by real events.
The series references historical figures and events in Danish politics prior to 1982.