Last Week in Denmark (01.10 - 08.10) Episode 38 Year 3
Win a laptop; Italian version; Fewer days with fireworks
Editor HQ
50,000 subscribers
The magic number that will open the door for public funding. For three years now, “Last Week in Denmark” has provided a volunteer-driven public service to internationals living in Denmark. Motivated by our mission to “empower people with information”, we have delivered 125 weekly editions in five different languages, managing to bring in over 20,000 subscribers to our community.
To take the project to the next level, we need some full-time employees among us, the volunteers. To fund their employment, we need public funding. To receive public funding, we need to demonstrate that our project is wanted by society. That’s why we need to reach 50,000 subscribers before January 1, 2024.
To make haste in our growth, we have launched our first referral campaign, sponsored by the IT company Bloomtree Technologies. The campaign will run for three weeks (8th to 29th of October) and the best three recruiters from the combined leaderboard* will receive prizes from our sponsor. First place (Dell XPS 13 9370), second place (Microsoft Surface Pro 6) and third place (HP Elite Monitor).
Besides prizes for the top 3 at the end of October, we also have tier rewards.
Tier 1 - If you bring 2 subscribers - 5% discount at Bloomtreeit.dk and a sticker**
Tier 2 - If you bring 5 subscribers - 10% discount at Bloomtreeit.dk and a ceramic mug**
Tier 3 - If you bring 10 subscribers - 20% discount at Bloomtreeit.dk and an enamel mug**
Tier 4 - If you bring 25 subscribers - 20% discount at Bloomtreeit.dk and an item of your choice (aluminum bottle, ethnic bag or t-shirt).**
Tier 5 - If you bring 50 subscribers - 30% discount at Bloomtreeit.dk and a hoodie or a sweater**
*The combined leaderboard means points accumulated on all five language editions leaderboards.
**The sticker, ceramic mug, enamel mug, aluminum bottle, ethnic bag, and t-shirt need to be picked up, either from our HQ in Aalborg or during our tours around the country. You can see here the models you can choose from. The hoodies and sweaters we can send to you via post.
How do I join the competition?
Click here, find a link in the middle of the page*, press “Copy Link” and share it with your friends, co-workers, neighbors, community groups, etc. Every time someone uses that link to sign up as a subscriber, you get a referral. You can follow your progress in real time on the leaderboard
*This only works if you are already signed in to Substack. If you are not, just press on the “Sign in”, enter your email address, and you will get an email that will give you access.
*Please don’t insert random emails or emails of people who don’t want to receive the newsletter. Besides the number of subscribers, what is important to us is the opening rate. Right now, we have it at 70%, and we need to keep it there.
Last Week in Denmark's Universe
Listen to our weekly podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Amazon Music, Goodpods, Podfriend, Castbox, Castro, Player FM, Deezer, Podchaser, Podcast Addict, Podcast Index and Buzzsprout.
The podcast will be on hiatus this week due to sickness.
Check out our “New Denmark” merchandise collections : “Moving Forward”; “Searching for Home”; “Vasil”; “Irina”; “Monika” and “Kifaax”.
Read evergreen content on our website: How to get started with investing in Denmark; Born in Denmark: Pregnancy; Born in Denmark: Giving birth
!!!New evergreen content!!! Pension in Denmark I: Folkepension; Pension in Denmark II: Labor market pension; Interview with Diana Florescu, Forbes 30 under 30; Translator in Denmark
We also speak other languages: Romanian, Polish, Spanish and Turkish.
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The Italian Edition is looking for volunteers: An Italian edition of Last Week in Denmark coming! The team is looking for five volunteers: 3 translators, and 2 proofreaders. If interested, please reach out to the current team (lastweekindenmarkIT@gmail.com).
The Polish Edition is looking for volunteers: We are looking for volunteers to support the section of the newsletter about the Polish community and regularly provide us with relevant news, events, and initiatives for Poles in Denmark. If you’re interested, please reach out to aleksandra.wojcik02@gmail.com
Danish Politics HQ
Law proposals and ideas
Reform of the school system: There are over 4000 academic goals for what a child should learn while going to the public school (folkeskolen). The Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, wants to remove 90% of them and give more freedom to teachers. We will find out next week how the school system will be impacted by the reform proposal.
The president of the “Association of School Leaders” supports the idea of reform. According to him, school today is far too focused on measurability.
Legalize cannabis and decriminalize drugs: The leader of Liberal Alliance proposed during a podcast that we should legalize drugs and allow pharmacies to sell cocaine and amphetamines. However, not right now. First, we need to rethink social policy and stop punishing people suffering from addiction.
An addiction consultant finds the proposal of legalizing cocaine problematic because “cocaine gives a huge dopamine boost to the brain, which gives increased self-confidence, more energy, and more resistance to effort. Being in that state is hugely attractive to some people. The problem is that when you use cocaine, the intoxication wears off quickly, and you drop below the starting point. And then you might quite quickly feel like going for one more trip and one more trip.”
Fewer days with fireworks: The government proposed to reduce the number of days during which you can shoot fireworks. Today, you can shoot fireworks between the 27th of December and the 1st of January. If the law passes, you will be able to do it only between the 31st of December and the 1st of January, and it will apply from the 2024/2025 season. Why? Because of veterans, livestock, cats, and dogs, who are not very keen on the noise.
Men should also be able to go to crisis centers and get free psychological help: The Minister of Equality proposed an amendment to the Service Act law, so that both men and women who are subjected to domestic violence have the right to go to a crisis center and get free psychological help.
The latest statistics from 2021 show that 83,000 men were exposed to partner violence in that year. To compare, 118,000 women were exposed to partner violence.
According to Service Act Article 109, the municipality must offer temporary accommodation to women who have been exposed to violence, threats of violence, or a similar crisis in relation to family or cohabitation. The women can be accompanied by children, and they receive care and support during their stay.
The political arena
The Parliament is back to work: Every year, on the first Tuesday of October, the Danish Parliament (Folketinget) restarts its activity after the long summer break. The Prime Minister holds the opening speech (like a state of Denmark speech), which is then followed by the opening debate, which sets the tone for the priorities of the Parliament for the next period.
Support for the red-blue government is falling: Opinion polls are not looking good for the three governmental parties. If we had elections today, they would not be able to muster a majority. To counter the current mood, the leaders of the governmental parties have been on a charm tour around Denmark and this autumn, a lot of new laws will be passed to appease the population.
The governmental parties are also facing internal struggles. The social democrats are fighting over the extra tax cuts, and the liberals are fighting over the tax on agriculture.
The social democrat voters are running away to SF (Socialists). The support for extra tax cuts, rather than allocating funds to welfare, has pushed away a lot of female voters. More women work in the welfare sector, and for this reason, among others, women are more likely to orient themselves politically in relation to the welfare debate.
The internal struggle at Venstre (Liberals) is between the countryside-Venstre and city-Venstre. The first ones are against the tax on agriculture, while the latter are for it and want a more ambitious climate stance by the party. Danmarksdemokraterne is targeting the countryside-Venstre members, while Konservative is targeting the city-Venstre members.
Danish Economy HQ
Essential Financial Skills for Entrepreneurs: Take control of your company’s finances, optimize your costs, make more financially sustainable business decisions, and save thousands of kroner in accountant fees. Join the Aalborg Institute for Development & Iværksætterdanmark series of practical workshops on bookkeeping, taxation, budgeting and financial planning. Invest three hours every Saturday from 14:00, between the 14th of October and the 4th of November, to get a clearer view of how the money flows in your company, so that you can use that knowledge to make strategic decisions for sustainable development.
The course is free. You can register for the course here. Press on the blue button “Sign Up Here” and then choose “Nej - Opret profil”.
Wages in Denmark have increased by 4.8% in the third quarter of 2023: The biggest salary increase since the financial crisis of 2008. At the moment, salaries are growing faster than prices (inflation at 2.4%), so there is an increase in “real wages” (what we actually get for our money).
0.99% transaction fee for MobilePay for business owners: From 1st October, MobilePay changed their business model. Before, a transaction used to cost between 0.3 DKK and 0.75 DKK (for example, when going to your local pizza shop and paying with MobilePay) plus a 49 DKK monthly subscription. From now on, it will be 0.99% of the entire transaction.
This summer's extreme global weather conditions have impacted the food supply:
Olive oil prices have increased by 38% compared to last year. Why? Drought and extreme heat in the Mediteranean area have reduced the harvest output by 50%.
Oranges are expected to severely increase in price in the following period. Why? Disease and bad weather (hurricanes destroyed the American harvest, while disease destroyed the Brazilian harvest).
Cocoa increased by 40% in price compared to last year. Why? West Africa is experiencing the worst drought in 20 years (Four countries in West Africa - Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria account for 75 percent of the world's cocoa production.)
Daily Life in Denmark HQ
Business owners will receive new smiley badges in October: You can read about inspection reports at restaurants and shops on findsmiley.dk. You can see here, how the new Smiley badge will make it easier for you to understand if a food place is safe or not.
Healthcare with Punitha Kumar
Atypical pneumonia cases are on the rise, says the Statens Serum Institut (SSI). Not to be confused with the common pneumonia that is caused by pneumococcus, atypical pneumonia is often caused by a different bacteria called mycoplasma. In the last seven weeks, between 28 and 73 cases have been reported weekly. Symptoms include a dry cough, headache, sore throat, and mild fever. They are expected to last up to four weeks. Although less serious than common pneumonia, the SSI has advised doctors to monitor patients who come in with respiratory infections or bronchitis, as ordinary penicillin will not work against atypical pneumonia and antibiotics are a common treatment option.
2 billion DKK worth of COVID-19 vaccines will be discarded this year, the Statens Serum Institut (SSI) says. The amount is equivalent to 10 million doses, which will soon exceed their use-by date. SSI has already disposed of more than four million doses this year. As the COVID-19 virus constantly mutates and vaccines need to be adjusted to protect against the latest variant, there is no longer a demand for the supply, nor can it be donated to other countries. Responding to several groups who called for an explanation on the wastage, Minister of Health Sophie Løhde said Denmark has not purchased any new COVID-19 vaccines but instead postponed and updated its vaccine deliveries under an EU agreement so that people can receive vaccines that protect them against the latest virus variants. If you wish to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or influenza, book an appointment at your nearest clinic or pharmacy via this interactive map.
Active euthanasia cannot be legalized in Denmark, the Ethics Council ruled on Wednesday.In a majority ruling, 16 members agreed that such an act would cause “unacceptable changes to basic norms in society, healthcare, and the way we treat people”. Council chairman Leif Vestergaard said, “I am concerned that if we introduce active euthanasia, we will relax our responsibility towards each other and the weakest, and that we will fail to ensure palliative care”. Meanwhile, the sole member who dissented in the 17-member panel said perhaps authorities should investigate and explore the possibilities for those who have requested it. This is the fourth time the council has rejected the proposal to legalize active euthanasia in this country.
European Union HQ
This category covers interesting happenings from other EU member states, EU candidate countries and EFTA countries (Norway, Iceland, Switzerland)
Pro-Putin forces win parliamentary elections in Slovakia: The social democratic, left-wing populist, and nationalist Smer-SD, led by former Prime Minister Robert Fico, emerged as the largest party, winning 42 seats, while the social-liberal and pro-European Progressive Slovakia came in second with 32 seats. Former Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini's social-democratic Hlas-SD, which split from Smer-SD in 2020, came in third with 27 seats, making Pellegrini the presumptive kingmaker in government formation negotiations.
2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman received the award for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. Katalin Kariko is from the European Union (Hungary).
The Road to the European Parliament elections 2024:
The Prime Minister announced the voting date in Denmark for the European Parliament Elections 2024. It will be on the 9th of June 2024.
Announcement Board
This section is curated by Cicek Eris. If you have events you want us to include here please send an email to denmarkhappenings@gmail.com. You can check out her newsletter about cultural events in Denmark here.
Aarhus, 13th Oct, 16:00–18:00: If you are looking to expand your social network you can join this Finally Friday event and broaden your social circle by having a drink with other people from around Aarhus. Don’t forget to sign-up. The first 20 attendees will get a beer or soda on the house.
Copenhagen, 12th Oct, 17:00 - 20:00: Food For Thought offers an engaging platform for individuals from diverse backgrounds to come together and share their life stories. Their aim is to facilitate learning and inspiration through the art of storytelling, fostering a secure, stimulating, and inclusive social environment, all while enjoying a delightful dinner.
International media about Denmark HQ
Greenlandic women ask Denmark for compensation over involuntary birth control (Reuters)
Out in the cold: the spy scandal gripping Denmark (Podcast in English: The Guardian)
Stock Games 2023 with Andreea Bianca Pascalau Buza
Buying worthless shares
You’ve probably already seen that SAS took over the financial headlines this week. But why? Over the past few years, SAS has kept being saved by this and that, despite being almost constantly in financial trouble. One of their strengths, and the reason why many investors kept believing that they would recover, is that they are partly owned by the Danish government.
Their share price has been continuously decreasing since 2007, with a spike here and there. In fact, SAS reached its highest share price in 2007 with a value of about 73.55 DKK - today, its value is 0.019 DKK.
On Tuesday, the company announced that they were going to be delisted from the Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo exchanges during 2024, essentially leaving investors with worthless shares. Surprisingly, more investors started buying SAS shares after the value decreased by 95% on Tuesday.
But what does that mean for you if you own SAS shares?
Assuming that you lost money anyway, if you sell before SAS is delisted in 2024, you will get tax deductions for your loss. If you don’t sell before SAS is delisted, the shares are “cancelled”, you lose all your money and can’t get tax deductions. In order to get tax deductions, you need to have “realised” your loss, meaning that the shares must be sold, and once they are delisted they can no longer be bought/sold.
SAS winning Aktiespil
If you owned SAS in Aktiespil before the 4th of October, “your money” took a pretty depressing plunge in value. However, those who picked up the broken pieces on the 4th doubled their portfolios and might just win this year’s Aktiespil.
Interested in investments?
I write about investments, home ownership, loans and more on Instagram @moneylikealocal.dk :)
Hi, great subscribtion campaign, it was a pleasure to participate. Seems like the Leaderboard is still counting, it should have lasted til 29 October. Will you reach out to the winners or what are the next steps? Thanks a lot