Last Week in Denmark (22.05 - 29.05) Episode 20 Year 2
Money-saving tips; Demographic changes; Vote on 1st June
Danish Politics HQ
The political game
The last debate before the summer vacation: The parliamentary year in the Danish Parliament begins on the first Tuesday in October and it ends on the 5th of June (Constitution Day). Before the end of the parliamentary year, there is a marathon debate in Parliament. This year it lasted 14 hours. Remarks from the debate:
The leader of the Conservatives, Søren Pape Poulsen, avoided the entire debate to call himself a prime-minister candidate. The blue parties are keeping with the tradition of looking to the leader of Venstre (Liberals) as their prime-minister candidate.
The leader of Enhedslisten, Mai Villadsen, confirmed once again that her party is not campaigning for the exit from the EU and NATO. However, she mentioned that the only reason for staying in NATO is because there are no better alternatives by making an analogy to “bad marriages”.
The leader of DF, Morten Messerschmidt, accused the Yes-supporting parties in the upcoming referendum of keeping silent and not debating enough the subject.
The high point of the closing debate: Prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, has proposed a change to the role of the justice minister, after the scandal with the former minister that leaked state secrets. Her proposal is to allow the attorney general to decide whether to prosecute cases related to politicians, without the involvement of the justice minister. The red parties have already announced support for the idea.
The scandal of the week: Some people lost or got their social benefits reduced (kontanthjælp) despite legally qualifying for them. The parliamentary parties are asking the Minister of Employment to launch an investigation into the matter. The minister promises that the people who wrongfully lost their social benefits will receive back payment.
New laws and strategies
Media law: The government has entered into an agreement with a majority within the Danish Parliament for a new media strategy 2022-2025. The main points of the agreement are:
6% cultural tax on streaming platforms revenue in Denmark to help finance more Danish films and series.
The Public Service grant is expanded so that radio and podcast producers can also apply for it.
More money available for local newspapers.
1st June Referendum
On Wednesday, you will get to vote (if you have Danish citizenship) on the future of Denmark in Europe. See here the main argument from every political party:
Venstre (Liberals): Vote Yes, so that Denmark can take responsibility. Should we be a country that looks at others on how they take responsibility or should we participate?
SF (Socialists): Vote Yes, because we should stand together in Europe, especially when we are threatened by Russia and China. We need to organize to be able to defend ourselves.
Nye Borgerlige (Libertarian Nationalists): Vote No, because we know what we have. We don’t know what’s coming if we change things.
Liberal Alliance (Libertarians): Vote Yes, so that Denmark can participate in European military cooperation.
Socialdemokratiet (Social Democrats): Vote Yes, because we need to stand together against Russia.
DF (Social Nationalists): Vote No, because the EU already decides too much. We have NATO that secures our freedom. We don’t need more EU.
Alternativet (Green Progressives): Vote Yes, because we should be at the decision-making table when our common defense and security strategy is discussed.
Radikale Venstre (Social Liberals): Vote Yes, because we should take responsibility for Europe’s safety and security.
Konservative (Conservatives): Vote Yes, as the Danish Parliament will further be able to say “yes” or “no” to participation in military missions. At the moment, it can only say “no”.
Enhedslisten (Red-Green Alliance): Vote No, as Danish soldiers should not be sent on missions down in Africa.
Frie Gronne (Free Greens): Vote Yes, because we don’t lose sovereignty, we actually gain the power to shape the future of Europe.
Moderaterne (Moderates): Vote Yes, because we cannot always rely on the USA to protect us, especially when they elect presidents like Donald Trump.
Danish Economy HQ
Warning from the trade unions: Despite the fact that 80% of the employed people work in a collective agreement covered workplace, only 52% are members of a trade union. That means 1.1 million people enjoy the benefits without making a contribution. This trend can send a signal to companies that they can operate without a collective agreement in place, leading to jobs without holidays, pensions, overtime pay, and other benefits. They proposed 15 ideas on how to protect the Danish welfare state.
Salaries are going up, but not enough: The salaries in the private labor market increased by 3,8% in the first 3 months of 2022, making it the biggest salary increase since 2009. However, the inflation in that period has been 4,8% and therefore the real value of the salary didn’t increase (as in you couldn’t afford more things, despite receiving more money).
Money saving tips: More than 47 thousands people from Denmark have gathered on the Facebook group called “Spar penge i hverdagen” to help each other with money saving tips.
Economy trends:
Negative interest rates are expected to disappear by the end of this year.
Interest rates will increase in July, September and December.
The prices are not expected to drop back to pre-inflation levels.
Daily Life in Denmark HQ
Monkeypox arrived in Denmark: The first case has been identified after a man brought it from Spain. The disease has been ravaging Africa for years and rarely has reached Europe in the past. According to the health authorities, the disease should be mild, lasting around 2 to 4 weeks during which you can experience fever, chills and a rash with blisters.
Gambling addiction: More than 10% of the population in Denmark suffers from addiction to the different types of online gambling or the more traditional ones at the “kiosk”. The government is preparing initiatives to curb the explosive growth in recent years.
Demographic changes:
According to Statistics Denmark, the population growth in the capital is in decline. Families with small children are moving away. The only reason why the decline is not sharper is that there are still a lot of internationals who move to Copenhagen.
The same trend has been identified in Aarhus and Odense.
Silkeborg, Skanderborg, and Horsens are the three cities with the biggest population growth in the next decade (all over 10% increase). Why? Families with children are moving there. There are many jobs available and the housing prices are affordable.
For 68 municipalities out of 98, the future looks grim. Their population will shrink by more than 10% in the next decade. Places like Langeland, Hjørring, Skive, Tønder and Lolland.
Speed rules are changing: 16 municipalities (Aarhus, Aalborg, Frederiksberg, Allerød, Fredensborg, Frederikssund, Furesø, Gentofte, Hillerød, Hørsholm, Lyngby-Taarbæk, Rudersdal, Odense, Randers, Norddjurs and Copenhagen) have decided to reduce the speed limit in selected urban areas to 40 km/h.
Bad sleeping epidemic: More than 50% of the people in Denmark often experience “bad sleep”, which results in waking up tired, groggy, and with dark circles around the eyes.
You need to sleep at least 7 hours and a half every night.
You should avoid looking at a screen for at least an hour before sleep.
Sleeping pills are not a real option. They only help you fall asleep, not give you a good night's sleep.
A power nap during the day helps your brain process the information you recently acquired and speed your learning curve.
Chronic bad sleep leads to a high risk of becoming sick. Your life expectancy is reduced by 6 years.
You need to go to sleep and wake up (if possible) at the same time every day.