Drink a glass of milk every day to become Danish

Last Week in Denmark (12.04-19.04) Episode 14 Year 6

What did we learn this week?

1. Forced adoptions questioned after a “hard to watch” documentary on national TV.

2. You can now pay even if the internet goes down.

3. Most people in Denmark will have more money in 2026 as real wages outpace inflation.

Letter from the editor

If you are reading this on your e-mail, you will notice that there are no links. To read the version with links, please look for lastweekdk.substack.com. Why? We need to do this for three or four editions until we get “whitelisted” again by the Google Mail algorithm. It’s really not fun to have our weekly newsletter flagged as spam as you have seen in the previous two weeks.

I will not brush over it. The mail situation has been quite demoralizing and we really need your help to redress it. From your side, you can do three things. If you have Gmail of course. The others have not been affected.
1. Find the last two editions in spam and mark them “safe.”
2. Add this email address to your contacts.
3. Reply back (something simple like “received” will do).
Unfortunately, we need to train the Gmail algorithm that our weekly newsletter is safe, as it has been for the last five years. If we fail after four editions, we have to move our mail operation from Substack.

You might be wondering about the title of this week’s edition. It’s a reference to the current debate over who can use the label “Danish” and who cannot. A member of the far-right party, Borgernes Parti, said that being Danish means being able to drink a glass of milk as you have the right enzymes to process it. He then referenced his previous Inuit girlfriend, who couldn’t tolerate milk.

If this was the only situation, we might have laughed it off. However, many others much stronger in argumentation have started to promote this idea of “Danish genes,” making those advocating for assimilation seem moderate by comparison. Look, such a situation was expected to happen as Denmark moves towards being a multi-ethnic society. Transition is not an easy process and there will be excesses on both sides.

For me, it’s important that our leaders acknowledge that we exist and when they address the nation, they use “people of Denmark” instead of “Danish.” We can belong to Denmark without becoming Danish. Why? Because when needed, Denmark will be protected by those who truly love it, regardless of genes.

Thank you for reading and sharing Last Week in Denmark!

Narcis George Matache, Executive Editor, LWID

P.S. - My latest watch on DR TV is the Icelandic show “The Danish Woman.” An amazing experience.

Our long-form articles this week…

1. Your essential guide to passing the PD3 Danish exam, Brooke Fossey

2. How to pass the PD3 Oral exam, Brooke Fossey

3. Navigating the Danish Citizenship labyrinth, Miriam Thompson

Want to dig deeper into the latest news? Check out the Last Week in Denmark podcast. New episodes drop on all podcast apps and YouTube every Wednesday. Follow us now so you don’t miss it.

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Image(s) of the Week

📸 Ice crystals from a space rocket over Denmark.

📸 An event from nature that is sad to watch.

Danish Politics HQ

Political scene

👶 Denmark’s use of forced adoption is under scrutiny. A new documentary has reignited debate over a system meant to give vulnerable children stability, after showing cases where children were forcibly taken away from their parents and moved between temporary families for years instead of getting a permanent home. At the same time, 42 of the 98 municipalities have not used forced adoption at all in the past five years, raising concerns about unequal practice depending on where a family lives. Several parties now want political action, and a review of whether the system is protecting children or failing them.

🌍 Mette Frederiksen makes Time Magazine list of the world’s 100 most influential people. She appears alongside figures like Pope Leo, Victoria Beckham, and MrBeast, with the magazine highlighting her firm stance on Greenland and strong support for Ukraine. Time even compares her leadership style to Margaret Thatcher, pointing to her decisiveness on the global stage.

🏛️ Morten Messerschmidt takes a central role in Parliament leadership. The leader of DF (Nationalist Conservative) has become vice-president of the Folketing’s presidium (the supreme governing authority of Parliament), breaking with tradition where party leaders usually stay out of this role. He says the goal is to strengthen oversight of the government and give Parliament “more muscle.” Some observers raise concerns about his perceived closeness to Russia-friendly narratives and the Trump/MAGA movement.

🏠 Emilie Schytte cleared despite residency confusion. Questions about whether the independent member of the Parliament actually lived in Denmark, despite having an apartment in Sweden, briefly delayed the approval of the election. Authorities confirmed she met the legal requirement of having an address in the country shortly before the vote.

Updates from the government negotiations

🏛️ Government talks stall as pressure rises. Mette Frederiksen says a new government could be formed “now” and urges Lars Løkke Rasmussen to return to negotiations, after he stepped back and called for broader talks including right-wing parties. More than 30 meetings have already taken place, but no clear majority has emerged, especially after Konservative (Conservatives) signaled it will not continue negotiations.

🏛️ Konservative (Conservatives) under pressure despite rejecting Frederiksen talks. While party leader Mona Juul has ruled out continuing negotiations with Mette Frederiksen, several Konservative mayors are openly pushing for a broad government anyway. They argue the current political situation calls for pragmatism over promises, even if it is not their preferred outcome.

🔵 Alex Vanopslagh fears a broken blue bloc (right-wing). The Liberal Alliance (Libertarian Conservative) leader warns that if Venstre (Liberals) and Konservative (Conservatives) join a government with Socialdemokratiet (Social Democrats), it could split the right-wing bloc for years. With a broad blue government now unlikely, he is already looking ahead to the next election and pushing for a tighter alliance between LA, V and K to rebuild trust and eventually challenge Mette Frederiksen’s hold on power.

Updates from Greenland

🌐 Inatsisartut (Greenlandic parliament) wants more English and Greenlandic in schools. Lawmakers have agreed to strengthen both languages, with a plan to be ready by next spring, while Danish remains mandatory for now. The move reflects reality on the ground, where many students already perform better in English than in Danish and often use it as their main foreign language. The change could gradually shift the balance away from Danish.

🧭 US interest in a Greenland base is becoming more concrete. An American military visit to Narsarsuaq suggests plans to potentially reopen a former base, with experts calling it a positive shift from political rhetoric to practical cooperation. The discussions involve coordination with Denmark and Greenland. Beyond military strategy, a revived base could also bring jobs and infrastructure to a small local community.

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Daily Life in Denmark HQ

💳 You can now pay even if the internet goes down. A new national backup system means card and mobile payments will still work in most supermarkets for up to seven days during outages. The move reflects how dependent people have become on cashless payments, with nine out of ten preferring cards or phones. The system is already active in major chains and will expand further.

💻 The pushback against screens is reaching schools. As the broader “war on screens” continues, some schools are now locking away computers and bringing back pen and paper to improve focus and learning. Experts say digital tools may have taken over too quickly, and it is time to rethink when they actually add value. The goal is not to remove technology, but to use it more intentionally.

Read more: how one Danish school banned phones and transformed its culture.

🐄 Watching cows jump is becoming a spring tradition. Thousands gathered across the country for the annual “Økodag”, where organic cows are released onto grass after winter, turning a farming routine into a national event with around 100,000 visitors. The moment has become a symbol of spring and animal welfare, but it also sparked debate, as advocacy groups now push to extend grazing rights to all cows.

🛍️ Why flea markets are everywhere this time of year. With spring comes the return of outdoor “loppemarkeder,” a deeply rooted part of everyday life where people hunt for second-hand treasures and socialize. The appeal goes beyond bargains, as it mixes nostalgia and a love for unique items you cannot find in stores. This year, older styles from the 1920s and small statement pieces like brooches are trending.

Read more: furnish your apartment for free at your local recycling centre!

🎒 A 1,100-day journey with no phone and no plan. A young craftsman from Bornholm has set off on “the vals,” a tradition where newly trained workers travel across Europe for three years and one day, taking jobs along the way. The ritual includes giving up your phone and living a nomadic life with strict rules. Once common across Northern Europe, the tradition still survives as a unique rite of passage focused on independence and personal growth.

🎶 Danish music is turning inward. The biggest earning songs of 2025 are almost all in Danish and focus on close relationships, showing a clear shift toward local language and emotions. Artists like Blæst and Lukas Graham dominate the list, with nine out of ten songs sung in Danish.

🏠 Asbestos roofs are becoming a ticking time bomb. Around 400,000 homes still have them, and while the safest option is to remove them completely, many homeowners simply cannot afford it. Experts say cheaper alternatives like cleaning, painting, or covering the roof only delay the issue and may soon become harder, especially with new rules banning high-pressure cleaning from July.

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Danish Economics HQ

Our money

🚆 If your train is late, here is what you can actually claim. After major disruptions caused by a technical fault, thousands have applied for compensation, and many are eligible without realizing it. If your train is delayed by more than 30 minutes, you can apply for partial compensation through DSB Rejsetidsgaranti. After 60 minutes, you may also get up to 75 DKK refunded for food and drinks if you keep your receipt. If your train is cancelled, you can take the next available public transport or get a refund, but taxis and hotels are not automatically covered, so check with DSB first.

💸 The price panic may be bigger than the problem. Despite all the talk about rising fuel costs and inflation, several economists say most people in Denmark will actually have more money in 2026, as wages are growing faster than prices. Even the recent jump in petrol prices only adds a fairly small extra cost for the average driver so far. The bigger picture, they argue, is that this year looks much better for household finances than the crisis years, especially for people on public benefits.

🛒 Food prices may be next in line. Experts warn that higher energy costs linked to tensions in the Middle East are likely to reach supermarket shelves within three to six months, with food prices potentially rising by 5 to 10% depending on how long the disruption lasts. Because energy affects everything from transport to packaging and production, the impact would spread throughout the whole shopping basket.

Read more: the app that helps you slash your food bill

State of the markets

🤖 AI could reshape one in five jobs. New analysis shows around 20% of jobs could be affected by automation, as more companies use tools like ChatGPT to handle tasks once done by humans. Some businesses are already running almost entirely on AI, with one company reaching tens of millions in revenue without employees. At the same time, we are among the fastest in Europe to adopt AI, and experts say strong digital systems and flexible job rules could help workers adapt.

Read more: 20 essential apps to make daily life in Denmark easier!

⚡ Thousands still waiting for their electricity refunds. Two companies, Velkommen and Nettopower, are under fire from Forsyningstilsynet for failing to return money to customers on time, with delays found in over 6,000 cases. By law, final bills and refunds should be settled within four weeks after switching providers, but some customers have waited years and faced long call queues just to claim what they are owed. Consumer group Forbrugerrådet Tænk warns many people may not even know they are owed money and reminds that you can claim interest on late payments.

💼 Two of the world’s richest families are teaming up. The family behind LEGO bricks and the Walton family (of Wal-Mart fame) are each investing around 640 million DKK into a new fund focused on education and learning tools for children. It marks a shift from pure philanthropy to impact investing, where returns are combined with social goals. The move could help bring LEGO further into classrooms, but also raises questions about balancing profit with purpose in the long run.

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Denmark in Global Headlines

🤝 “Kingmaker Rasmussen pauses work with Frederiksen in Danish government talks” – Politico

💊 “Life sciences lawyer warns of potential product exodus from Denmark after Trump price offensive” – MedWatch

📬 “How to save Europe’s postal services – or let them die like Denmark’s” – EUobserver

🚆 “More than 30 trains damaged in Denmark after traction system fault upends traffic” – RailTech

🧾 “Fact Check: Denmark did not announce the building of 30,000 new mosques, says government” – Reuters

🇺🇦 “What happened after Denmark adopted a ruined city in Ukraine” – The New York Times