Last Week in Denmark (20.11 - 27.11) Episode 41 Year 2
Red-blue government; Higher inequality; Higher tax deductions
Editor HQ
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Danish Politics HQ
Government Negotiations (Week Three)
The end of “block” politics: The chances that we will have a red-blue government with Mette Frederiksen as prime minister have increased significantly. However, in the process, the two “blocks”, red and blue, will be sacrificed after decades of existence. If the leader of the “reds” and the leader of the “blues” govern together, then a new opposition “block” needs to be created. Negotiations will continue for a couple more weeks.
Who will be in the opposition? So far, four political parties are out of the negotiations (which means they will not be part of the government or support it in the Parliament). Two red (Enhedslisten and Alternativet) and two blue (Nye Borgerlige and DD - Inger S). Could the four of them work together? Highly unlikely.
There are eight remaining parties taking part in the negotiations (Socialdemokratiet, SF, Radikale Venstre, Venstre, Konservative, Liberal Alliance, DF, and Moderaterne) and according to the leader of Moderaterne, Lars Løkke, “too many different voices at the table”. He is asking Mette Frederiksen to narrow down the parties that are still part of the negotiations.
If during the campaign, the liberals (Venstre) and the conservatives were completely against forming a government with Mette Frederiksen, the situation is different today. During their National Congress, Venstre’s leader Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, said that the voters have spoken and the idea of a blue government should be put aside for now. The leader of Konservative said that a potential red-blue government should be at least tried.
Not everyone within Venstre and Konservative is happy with the red-blue government. The youth wing of Venstre is against it and many of the local leaders from Konservative.
The latest moves from Venstre and Konservative, as leaders of the blue parties, have determined the other blue parties to say this is the end of the “blue block”.
The New Parliament
After a member of the Parliament from Moderaterne resigned (after only one week of work) due to media articles that were exposing him as a failed entrepreneur living on his wife’s income for the past decade, we got a new member of the Parliament that has a non-Danish background. His name is Mohammad Rona and he came as a refugee from Afghanistan in 1991.
There is a proposal to increase public funding for private schools that have a more diverse group of students. Studies show that 11,3% of the students in public schools have a non-western background (from outside of EU, US, Canada, Australia) compared to only 7,1% in private schools. Private schools get 76% of their costs covered by public funding.
After several cyber attacks on critical infrastructure this year, the political parties are asking for a Ministry of IT and digitalization. It is clear that cybersecurity has become an important item on the political agenda and there will be massive investments to increase the digital security of Denmark.
Danish Economy HQ
Inequality: The difference between the poor and the rich has widened the most since income inequality started to be measured in 1987. If in 1987 the Gini coefficient was at 22, today it is above 30.
The Gini coefficient is at 0 when everyone has the same income and at 100 when one person gets everything.
Tax deduction for commuting to work: If you drive more than 24 km between home and work you get a tax deduction of 2,16 DKK per km. Any method of transport qualifies. In 2023, the deduction will rise to 2,19 DKK per km.
There is also a tax-free allowance for employees that drive their own car for business purposes. In 2023 it will rise to 3,73 DKK per km (for the first 20.000 km).
13,69 DKK for a liter of gasoline: The fuel prices are going back to normal, or at least to pre-war values. In January 2022, the price was 12,59 DKK per liter. Why did the price fall from 18,19 DKK in June 2022?
The partial ban on Russian oil led to increased prices. In the meantime, we found other suppliers.
China is still under COVID quarantine. Which means that their fuel needs are lower than usual, leaving more available for the rest of us.
The prices might stabilize around this price until February 2023, when it is expected to increase again due to a complete embargo on Russian oil.
“Beware from investing in cryptocurrency”, says the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority. Cryptocurrencies are digital money like Bitcoin and Ethereum. There are few places where you can use unregulated digital money. Their value fluctuates wildly, and you can end up losing all of your savings if you invest them in cryptocurrency. For example, Bitcoin lost 70% of its value in the past year.
Christmas lights: Holidays during an energy crisis tend to be less, well, illuminated. I’m sure you had a local debate in your community over putting Christmas lights in the public space. To make sure you still get to enjoy your holidays, the Danish Energy Agency came up with the following recommendations.
A light chain with LED-bulbs (5 watts) would add to your energy bill 60 DKK if run 24/7 in the next 3 months (at an average price of 5,5 DKK per Kwh). In comparison, a light chain with incandescent / halogen bulbs (80 watts) would add 960 DKK.
Daily Life in Denmark HQ
Citizenship Test: Twice a year you can take the citizenship test, to see if you are skilled enough in Danish history, geography, culture, and values. Check here to see if you would have passed.
Abandoned pets: The inflation and energy crisis have pushed many people towards the terrible choice of abandoning their pet. Animal shelters are already over capacity and people have started to leave their pets at rest areas on the highway. The other choice to abandon would be euthanization (death), but that is expensive.
The law says that it is illegal to abandon your pet on public property. You are responsible for damages done by your pet to other people’s private property or the public domain.
Faroe Islands and its Russian problem: In 1977, Faroe Islands made a fishing agreement with Russia. Since then, the agreement has been renewed every year. Russian ships can fish for herring, mackerel and blue whiting in Faroese waters and Faroese ships can fish for cod and haddock in Russian waters. Despite initially wanting to end the agreement, the Faroese leaders realized that it would harm the economy too much and decided to continue.
Healthcare
Vitamin D: A study made by Statens Serum Institute has shown that people in Denmark with a lower vitamin D level suffered more when infected with COVID. The Danish Health Authority encourages people in Denmark to ensure optimal levels of vitamin D by taking a daily supplement of 5-10 µg during the winter months.
Over the last four years, Mikkel Gram-Hansen has managed to complete all 179 official mountain bike trails in Denmark. He is the first one ever to do so. Based on his experience, he recommends seven “hidden gems” of mountain biking trails in Denmark.
Devil’s trail (Slangerup); South Fynske Alper (Fåborg); Almindingen Trailcenter (Rytterknægten); Rold Skov trail (Rebild); Sir-Lyngbjerg trail (Holstebro); Ebeltoft trail (Ebeltoft) and Pamhule Forest (Haderslev).
Culture and religion
Since Elon Musk bought Twitter and started his reforms, users from Denmark (especially politicians, journalists, researchers, opinion makers) started to migrate to Mastodon. The social media platform was created in 2016 by Eugen Rochko as a response to the central management of Twitter and it has two million users.
An expedition from Denmark found three 300-year old shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea. The ships are well preserved due to the low-oxygen environment on the seafloor, the absence of worms that would destroy the wood and the location outside of industrial fishing areas.
Sport with Jelimir Vlastici
Despite their defeat, the Danish national team gets a warm reception. It took Denmark 18 years to reach the final stage of a European Handball Championship again. Despite being led by up to four goals in the second half, the Norwegian team managed to overturn the result and subsequently took the gold home. The final score was 25-27.
On Monday afternoon, the team was welcomed by an impressive number of fans at Copenhagen Airport. The official celebration was organized by the Danish Handball Association, who have also planned a festive reception.
Local news
Where can you get a civil marriage in Copenhagen? In 2023, the municipality of Copenhagen will allow couples to get married in 29 outdoor places. If you wish to get married in a special location, be prepared to spend between 950 and 4000 DKK.
European Union HQ
17 new astronauts: 22.550 people applied to become astronauts for the ESA (European Space Agency), among which 145 from Denmark. 17 got selected, none from Denmark though. Among the selected ones, there is also the first astronaut with a physical disability.
Changes at Eurovision: After the scandal last year with the jury vote, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has decided to avoid it for the semi-finals. In this way, the viewers will decide who goes into the final. The representative of Denmark for Eurovision 2023 will be decided on the 11th of February in the Næstved Arena.
Gender equality: The European Parliament decided that there needs to be a more equal distribution between men and women in the boards that run the biggest European companies. The quota should be 60% men and 40% women or the other way around, if the board is majority female. 31,6% of the board positions in Europe are being held by women. The most equal EU state is France with 46% women representation, while the least equal are Cyprus and Estonia with less than 10%. Denmark is at 38,7%.
Announcement Board
Aalborg, 7th December (19.00): International Christmas event at Budolfi Cathedral, where you can enjoy a magical evening with songs and readings (in English).
Aalborg, 16th December (13.30): Christmas event for spouses and partners. What? A cozy afternoon where all participants can enjoy making some Christmas decorations, eat Christmas treats and chat with other internationals.
Copenhagen: Check out the Christmas events calendar here.
Copenhagen: Join “Get Started”, a free 1-day course in English aiming at giving internationals a greater chance of finding a job in Denmark. Who? Internationals that arrived after 2019 in the City of Copenhagen or the Region of Copenhagen.
Odense, the 4th of December: Last edition of “Chat in Danish” organized at the Funen village. Chat in Danish Odense is a mixed group of Internationals and Danes meeting in an informal setting to speak Danish with each other
Odense, the 8th of December: International Christmas dinner. Sign up here.
Odense, the 13th of December: Christmas event for spouses.
Esbjerg: Check out the Christmas calendar of activities here.
“Sustainability in Denmark (part 1): why Aalborg is considered a green capital of Europe”, written by Susy Pertica
Since the Aalborg Charter was signed in 1994, Aalborg – the fourth largest city in Denmark – has been considered a green capital of Europe for the actions it has taken to become sustainable. The challenges of turning green have involved everyone: the single citizen and the municipality itself, with a range of local, national, and international networks and partnerships.
The main efforts have been by the city’s government (public sector), supported by:
entrepreneurial actions (industry).
the knowledge of university specialists (knowledge institutions).
the perseverance of citizens (civil society) involved in the various projects.
The port has reduced its electricity consumption and carbon emissions by about 40% between 2010 and 2018. The new port will improve the overall logistic system by encouraging the greening process of other cities and countries. To continuously have exchanges with advanced and green economies, they will have to level up to a more sustainable lifestyle.
In 1994, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) held the first European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns in Aalborg. ICLEI is the world’s leading network of local and regional governments committed to sustainable development. It provides technical consulting to governments to help them meet sustainability objectives.
The Aalborg Charter, which was approved at the 1994 conference, defines environmental sustainability as “maintaining the natural capital”. This means that:
The renewable material we consume, like water and energy, should be replaced.
The pollutants we emit should not exceed the capacity of the air, water, and soil to absorb and process them.
The maintenance of biodiversity and air/water/soil quality standards should be sufficient to sustain human life and wellbeing, as well as animal and plant life.
European cities and towns are signatories of this charter. They are key players in the process of changing lifestyles, production and consumption patterns, and infrastructure development and improvement. This is because 75% of the European population lives in urban areas.
Many European cities have held the ICLEI Congress: Lisbon, Hanover, Seville, Dunkirk, Geneva, Basque Country, Mannheim and Malmö. Aalborg has raised its hand to be in the front row two times, in 1994 (when it hosted the conference) and 2010. This shows that it is willing and able to think and act towards a more sustainable future.
The greener the culture from this whole improvement, the better the interpretation of new needs towards a more sustainable lifestyle. This is not only at a personal and municipal level, but also at a national and international level.
The choice of turning green is an imperative one. It is like walking at a fast pace between a world submerged by unrenewable waste (like plastic and pollution) and a future made of continuous discoveries to be more sustainable. We are now exhausting unrenewable energies (carbon before and petrol after). Our part as individuals is to be less wasteful.
Part 2, about how to be less wasteful in Denmark, will be published on 11 December.