In this episode, we’re joined by Alex Vanopslagh, a Member of the Danish Parliament and leader of Liberal Alliance. We talk about his political career, being signed off sick with stress, how he has grown as a leader and the party’s growth at the 2022 Danish general election.
Alex opens the conversation by describing himself as funny, self-deprecating, disorganised and passionate. Those traits have shaped his political career and the culture that defines Liberal Alliance today.
“I’m never going to be a politician”
Alex talks about the road from his first interest in politics to becoming leader of Liberal Alliance. He says his upbringing wasn’t shaped by politics as such, but that his interest began with a love of social studies and debate. He adds that he grew up with a centre-right outlook and West Jutland virtues, which he believes helped shape his values.
Alex joined Liberal Alliance Ungdom, the party’s youth wing, in 2011, became its chair in 2014, won the Danish debating championship in 2016 and became leader of Liberal Alliance in 2019. He says his political career has been challenging, instructive, fun and exciting, and that today he’s grateful to make a living from his passion. But becoming a politician was never the goal when he joined Liberal Alliance Ungdom. Quite the opposite: back then he was convinced he would never be a politician.
Signed off with stress as a result of the leadership role
Alex says he wasn’t a strong leader when he took over Liberal Alliance, and it ended with him being signed off sick with stress. He believes it was mainly down to a lack of leadership experience, which led him to make a lot of beginner’s mistakes. Once he recognised the pressure he was under, he sought help from an occupational psychologist. The sessions gave him a line he still carries with him: “It’s better to do the right things badly than to do the wrong things well.”
Today Alex is very aware of the leadership style he wants to practise and the culture he wants to foster in Liberal Alliance. For him, it has been important to put together the right team, be transparent and create a safe space where nobody is afraid of conflict, but where there’s room to challenge each other. Going through stress has taught him to take time off. It’s still hard for him to be fully present when he finally puts work aside.
“You have to dare to lose to win”
The conversation moves on to a tool Alex has used throughout his life. As a child, he did karate at a high level but struggled with performance anxiety. Through sports psychology, he learned to use mental training in the form of visualisation. During this training, Alex listened to a tape with the line: “You have to dare to lose to win”. For many years it made no sense to him, but today it has a permanent place in his work as party leader.
Asked why Liberal Alliance has grown so much, Alex points to several things. Among other things, Liberal Alliance has dared to take a different approach, fostered a creative, risk-taking culture and combined humour and creativity in its communication.