Last Week in Denmark (29.09-06.10) Episode 33 Year 4

Order in schools; Average salary in Denmark; Use of Greenlandic language

Editor HQ 

State of Denmark 

Four degrees, three degrees, two degrees Celsius… Every morning this week has been colder than the previous one. Not sure if we jumped straight into winter or simply forgot how cold the autumn can get. Anyway, soon enough we will be playing Christmas tunes on the radio, as time seems to warp as we approach the end of the year. 

The beginning of October also marks the start of the political season. With an opening debate that goes well into the night, members of Parliament are back to work. So far we could only talk about proposals and ideas; eventually, we can actually mention legislation that has passed and will be implemented in 2025. 

We are especially looking forward to the Finance Law 2025 to see what our tax money will be spent on next year. The debate around it should start soon, with a more defined agreement to be announced in the first days of December. 

As you can imagine, the opening debate did not spare us the drama. Probably the most intense point of the debate has been a symbolic speech in Greenlandic made by Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam and the ensuing conflict with the president of Parliament, Søren Gade, who didn’t allow questions to the speech because it was not done in Danish. 

The debate about the usage of Greenlandic and Faeroese in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Denmark has only just begun. We can expect, at least from the Greenlandic side, significant pressure to get the language recognized as a working language. 

The drama did not stop there. The leader of Dansk Folkeparti, Morten Messerschmidt, used his opening speech to launch a personal attack against the leader of Moderaterne, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, effectively declaring war on him. His use of the opening speech was so unusual that virtually every party, with the exception of Konservative, boycotted the question round (it is customary to allow questions after a leader’s speech). 

As most dramas have three acts, so did the opening debate. The political spokesperson from Enhedslisten, Pelle Dragsted, had to defend questions about the party's links with terrorist groups. What was mentioned? Meetings between party representatives and the PFLP terrorist group, and providing meeting space for the Blekingegade Gang. 

It’s been an interesting start to the political season, and it should only become more interesting, as we expect probably the most important showdown for our society: the discussion about pension age. 

Thank you for reading and sharing Last Week in Denmark!

P.S. - Do you have a passion for harvesting your own produce? If yes, you will enjoy this link. And if you like wolves, you can see the ones we have in Denmark.

LWID Universe 

Welcome to our latest language edition - Dänisches Wochenblatt. On this occasion, we would like to invite German speakers to join our German-language edition team. If you have a couple of hours every week and want to either translate, proofread, write, or promote, reach out to the team leader, Daniel Schneider. 

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Danish Politics HQ

Weekly political overview 

Driving while high with laughing gas will soon become illegal if the proposal from the Ministry of Transport is passed. Possession of laughing gas in the public space has become illegal since July last year, and background checks have been introduced for customers that want to buy more than 17 grams at once. 

• The lungs and airways can be damaged by the pressure from the gas bottle, and eventually you can lose consciousness.

11% fewer cows and pigs in Denmark once the green tripartite agreement is implemented. However, the impact will be different across Denmark. Some municipalities will have to reduce as much as 74% of their cows and pigs. The farmers association (part of the tripartite agreement) disagrees with the numbers presented and says that it will be possible to more or less maintain the stock of animals even if 400,000 hectares of agricultural land is transformed into forests. 

25 out of the 98 municipalities do not have a support system for veteran soldiers, and the ones that do vary greatly in quality of service delivered. Several parties want to propose a law to introduce an obligation for municipalities to hire a veteran coordinator that can support veterans to reintegrate in society. 

Dansk Folkeparti declared war on Moderaterne. The leader of the party, Morten Messerschmidt, declared that he will do everything in his power to keep Lars Løkke Rasmussen and the Moderaterne away from power. As we can imagine, this declaration has triggered anger with the other “blue” parties as they wish for a potential right-wing government after 2026, and creating one without Moderaterne will be close to impossible. 

Focus

Latest opinion poll

• Government parties: Socialdemokratiet (Social Democrats) 19.6% (+2.3%*); Venstre (Liberals) 11.1% (+2.2%); Moderaterne (Social Liberals) 4.1% (-2.6%) = 34.8%

• Red Opposition: SF (Socialists) 16.9% (+1.1%); Enhedslisten 5.4% (Red-Green Alliance) (-2.2%); Radikale Venstre (Social Liberals) 3.8% (-1.3%); Alternativet (Greens) 2% (-0.3%) = 28.1%

• Blue Opposition: Liberal Alliance (Libertarians) 13.1% (-0.7%); Danmarksdemokraterne (Nationalist Populists) 10.9% (+1.2%); Konservative (Conservatives) 6.6% (+0.3%); Dansk Folkeparti (Nationalist Conservative) 4.6% (no change) = 35.2%

*The percentages show a change since the latest poll in August 2024. 

Moderaterne, a relatively new party that participated in its first parliamentary elections barely two years ago, is struggling. Recent scandals left a significant dent on the party’s reputation, a fact reflected by the declining support in the opinion polls. For us, as internationals, this is not great. In the government, they have been the party that pushed the other two government parties to dial back the nationalist undertones and embrace a more positive narrative towards internationals. 

• The worst thing that can happen for a Danish party is to have people be “embarrassed” that they voted for them. It happened to Alternativet in the past and Dansk Folkeparti recently; internal scandals simply destroyed their reputations. 

Public debate on the rule of order in schools: The Ministry of Education has presented eight changes to be discussed by the people before they are proposed for approval. Why the reform proposal? To reduce bullying, vandalism, and violence in schools. Among the changes you can find:

• Punishment options are expanded - students can be required to spend time in “school service” doing, for example, cleaning tasks. 

• Students can get suspended from school twice a year for a maximum of 10 days at once. 

• In emergency cases, a special pedagogue can be assigned to a “problem student” to correct their path. 

• It will be easier to transfer “problem students” from one school to another. 

• Parents of “problem students” will also receive mandatory tasks from school.

The students association (Danske Skoleelever) and the teachers association (Danmarks Lærerforening) find the increase in punishment the wrong way forward. They would prefer an increased focus on prevention and more financial support for the schools. 

Danish Economics HQ

Weekly economics overview 

The average monthly salary in Denmark was 48,559 DKK in 2023. Unfortunately, the wage gap between men and women has increased to 12.4% compared to 2022. The average monthly salary for men was 54,574 DKK, while for women it was 45,200 DKK. However, if you disregard the 0.2% increase compared to 2022, the general trend paints a sunnier picture, as the wage gap has narrowed by 25% in the last two decades. 

Fixed-rate mortgages at 3.5% interest rate from Totalkredit. Good news for first-time home buyers :). Hopefully, the 1% fixed rate will come back one day (unfortunately, it will not happen before 2027). For those who got a fixed-rate mortgage at 4 or 5%, you should wait with the thoughts of refinancing. Why? Read here. 

The end of fake periodic technical inspection (syn) for cars. The Ministry of Transport will introduce a new regulation from January 2025 for inspection halls to reduce cheating. Among other requirements, there needs to be photo documentation of the car that it has actually been in the inspection hall. 

You can now drive your car as a taxi (without a special license) on islands smaller than Bornholm without a bridge connection. 

We waste 507,000 tons of food every year. In fact, 36% of all the waste in Denmark is food. An economist from Nordea says that an average family could save 700 DKK every month if they could limit food waste to an absolute minimum. 

• An average family spends 3,500 DKK on food per month. 

• Do you have any great tips on how to reduce food waste in the household? Write an article and send it to reporter@lwid.dk 

Focus

Fewer control visits from the Food and Drug Agency (Fødevarestyrelsen): Until now, if they discovered issues during the control visit, there would be two more control visits afterwards (one to check if you fixed the issue and another standard one). Moving forward, they will limit it to only one control visit to check if you fixed the issue. 

Have you prepared for a three-day emergency situation? A month or less ago, you should have received a letter in your e-Boks advising you to prepare for crisis situations so that you could survive for at least three days without outside help. See here how some families have prepared their homes for emergency situations. 

• Do you want to share your story on how you prepared for emergency situations? Write to us at reporter@lwid.dk 

Entrepreneurship Corner

Free business courses by Aalborg Institute for Development

• “Doing business in Denmark” in Aalborg (October 10-31) and online (November 7-28) where you can learn how to start and run a company in Denmark. 

• “Business Economics” in Viborg (October 23 - November 13) and online ( November 19 - December 10) where you can learn about basic accounting, deductions, taxes, and financial literacy for entrepreneurs. 

Get a 50,000 DKK voucher to improve the security of your website and to become compliant with the GDPR directive. Reach out to Bernardo (np@aalborgid.com) for more information on how to apply. Who qualifies? Companies with a minimum of 2 full-time employees in 2023. Deadline! October 20. 

Tip of the week! If you have a business with economic activity (regardless of size), you need to record income and spending into a digitally approved accounting software. Luckily, Dinero is free up to 100,000 DKK in revenue and is very intuitive to use, enabling you to delay the use of an accountant until you make more money. 

• If you have a few invoices and receipts every month, you can also consider Billy. It is free as long as you can do with three invoices and ten receipts monthly. 

Daily Life in Denmark HQ

Insights into the Danish way of life

October has begun - the beginning of some of the most beautiful, majestic landscapes in the country. However, not all of the richness of the Kingdom of Denmark lies in the mainland; it can also be found in the Faroe Islands and Greenland. October is an important month for the latter, as Greenlanders celebrate their Constitution Day on October 1st.

The history between Denmark and Greenland contains everything from impressive natural landscapes and royal visits to a colonial past and lingering tensions. More specifically, during the 20th century, the Inuit population suffered a series of measures that led to their cultural suppression, coerced assimilation into Danish norms, and, in some instances, forced relocation. Although attitudes have changed a lot over time, these policies still represent a painful chapter in Greenland’s history.

In recent years, Denmark has been more introspective about its colonial past, with growing calls for acknowledgement of the harm caused and different efforts to rebuild its relationship to Greenland. 

However, the challenge now lies in the abysmal inequality between the two societies: while Danes lead “fairytale” sort of lives, Greenlanders have several pressing internal issues, particularly related to suicide, educational inequality, substance abuse, and domestic violence. These problems are so widespread that the average Greenlander is affected by one or more of them. For Denmark, this requires empathizing with a very different (and harsh) reality and finding ways to not only amend but also support its full Kingdom effectively.

Weekly overview

Fertility treatments expanded. From now on, you have the right to six attempts instead of three. 65% of fertility treatments are successful within the first attempts. With the expansion, 84% are expected to succeed. 

The Cactus Towers (Kaktusserne) in Copenhagen won the title of best high-rise building in Europe. They were known before as the ugliest building in Denmark. See it here. 

Ever thought about buying your own church? For two million DKK (probably even less if you negotiate), you can get a church in Sorø. Check it out. 

When did the love story between the Danes and Rye Bread begin? New research sheds light on how it all started. Violent volcanic eruptions in 539 covered Denmark with a veil of ash and sulfur gasses, and the only cereal that was able to cope with just a bit of sunshine was rye. For the survivors (which was less than half of the population), it was a godsend, and since then it has dominated the food culture in Denmark. 

Follow the experiment made by a family of five who have attempted to follow all the government advice regarding daily life. For a month, a family from Saltum has tried to follow all instructions, from diet to exercise and screen time. See the result here. 

Our coastal waters are suffering. We are currently experiencing the biggest loss of oxygen in the water in the last 20 years. You know the stories you have seen with dead fish floating around? This is the reason. In some areas, the oxygen depletion is so severe that nothing is alive anymore. Why? Nitrogen and phosphorus are brought by rain into the sea, where it feeds the algae, which in turn consume all the oxygen available. You can check  the situation near your area here. 

International Community in Denmark HQ

Read an article about “Bicycle Culture in Denmark” written by Ahmet Akkoc. 

Excerpt “For a first-timer, it can be very overwhelming to adjust to biking. This first guide will cover if you should buy or rent a bike, depending on your needs.” 

A new episode from the “Found in Translation” column written by Ali Lewis. 

Excerpt: “Ask a non-Dane what they associate most with Denmark and “hygge” is likely to come up. In the UK, the concept of “hygge” is used to sell expensive candles, expensive blankets, expensive clothes – you get the idea. In Denmark though, I’ve learned it’s more about atmosphere and experience than things.”

Ali has also written an article about how to thrive in the Danish winter. 

Stephanie Mannings is back with another episode from the “How to live like a local” column.

Excerpt: “For this is no ordinary gas station. Every Saturday morning there is a classic car

meet. Classic car enthusiasts of all generations bring out their vintage pride and joys

and are happy to have their cars photographed and admired up close.”

Announcement Board

Odense, October 10: If there’s something people from Fyn are passionate about, it’s brunsviger (locally known as “brunner”). This national Danish treasure is celebrated every year in October, where you can get free brunsviger at different locations in Odense.

Odense, October 14-20: Are you looking for some fun activities to do with your kids in Efterårsferien? Odeon is hosting different activities for the kids every day from Monday to Friday where the last three days will be part of Magiske Dage. Make your own kite or create your own chestnut animal. You can also visit Jernalderlandsbyen (Iron Age Village) to hear about myths and magic from the old days.

Viborg, October 22, 17:30-19:30: Welcome event for newcomers to Viborg. Here you will have the opportunity to meet people and organizations that could be relevant for you. Don’t forget to register before October 17.

International media about Denmark HQ

15 things to know before visiting Denmark (Lonely Planet)

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