Denmark
IMAGO / Ritzau Scanpix
After a record 69 days of negotiations, Denmark has a new minority coalition government, dependent on the support of the radical left. The 77-page centre-left agreement contains important social and environmental wins for the left but also preserves a neoliberal economic outlook and Denmark’s restrictive migration regime. Whether its progressive elements are implemented remains an open question. On 2 June, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced an end to Denmark’s longest-ever government formation negotiations. More than two months after the...
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "Denmark’s New “Four-Leaf Clover” Government"
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "Denmark’s New “Four-Leaf Clover” Government"
Substantial wins for the Danish Left, and for the hard-right, as the reigning Social Democrats hand over the keys to the capital for the first time in a hundred years The governing Social Democrats (SD) took a massive beating in Denmark’s municipal elections on November 18, losing 5.2 percent support nation-wide. While still the party with the highest overall vote (23.2 percent), it took losses in many municipalities, and saw its support halved in some key strongholds, losing 18 mayors across the country and failing to...
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "Danish Social Democrats Shaken After Heavy Losses in Municipal Elections"
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "Danish Social Democrats Shaken After Heavy Losses in Municipal Elections"
Pelle Dragsted of Denmark's Red-Green Alliance in conversation about his new book, Nordic Socialism. In recent years, renewed interest in socialism has grown across Europe and beyond — often sparked by mounting inequality, climate breakdown, and the failures of neoliberal governance. But what does socialism look like when it already exists in everyday institutions? Pelle Dragsted, a member of the Danish Folketing for the Red-Green Alliance, believes the answer lies in the Nordic model — and in recognizing the democratic and...
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "”Socialism Is Not a Utopia — It’s Alive and Thriving”"
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "”Socialism Is Not a Utopia — It’s Alive and Thriving”"
Barely a decade ago, the far-right Dansk Folkeparti (“Danish People’s Party”) was polling as high as 25 percent nationwide, but today Denmark’s far-right parties are largely excluded from direct parliamentary influence. The right’s policies on migration and integration have been largely adopted by the Social Democratic-led government, however, bringing far-right politics into the Danish political mainstream while the far-right itself is caught in a long and messy process of splintering, regroupment, and re-radicalisation....
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "Denmark’s Far-Right has Splintered, but its Policies are now Mainstream"
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "Denmark’s Far-Right has Splintered, but its Policies are now Mainstream"
“MEP Per Clausen” by The Left, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Per Clausen, Member of the European Parliament for Danish left-wing party Enhedslisten looks at the programme of Denmark’s EU-Presidency, which begins on July 1. What are the prospects, priorities and problems of the upcoming Presidency, and what does it mean for progressive policies in Europe and the interests of the working class? At first glance, the prospects are grim: a deliberate lack of leadership; an accommodation to the centre (and far) right; and a prioritisation of business interests over social justice and the environment. What...
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "The Danish EU Presidency: disappointing and unambitious"
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "The Danish EU Presidency: disappointing and unambitious"
IMAGO/Ritzau Scanpix
Caught between a Danish colonial past and threats from Donald Trump’s US, Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat) will hold elections to its parliament, the Inatsisartut, today, on March 11. Greenland’s political status within the Kingdom of Denmark is difficult to explain, especially to those who are not from Denmark or its Northern Atlantic territories. Yet, understanding this dynamic is crucial to grasping what is at stake in Greenland’s elections. “Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark,” states Wikipedia—a precise and...
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "Greenland: “It’s the white man—send him home!”"
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "Greenland: “It’s the white man—send him home!”"
imago images/Ritzau Scanpix
The Danish state’s distinction between Danes, Western immigrants and their descendants as opposed to non-Western immigrants and their descendants isn’t a neutral classification—it’s a strategic tool used to justify discrimination. One of the most powerful justifications for this is the narrative of "rescuing" minority women—especially Muslim women—from so-called negative social control. Clearly, this is not really about empowerment; rather, it is a way to sustain exclusion and marginalisation. By framing Muslim women as...
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "”Rescuing” Muslim Women: A Justification for Discrimination"
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "”Rescuing” Muslim Women: A Justification for Discrimination"
John Nielsen
Despite being one of the first countries to sign the UN Refugee Convention, Denmark has also been a frequent first-mover on harsh immigration policies in Europe. An increasing number of political parties – not all of them right-wing or nationalist – across Europe point to the “Danish model” as an example of successful migration and asylum policy. Even Sweden – once seen as a more humane counterpoint – is now copying Danish policies in detail. In reality, the “Danish model” would not work if copied by other countries, and in...
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "Why Europe should avoid modelling its migration policy on Denmark"
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "Why Europe should avoid modelling its migration policy on Denmark"
IMAGO/Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg
Record results for (Centre-)Left parties in the Nordic countries, with far-right parties losing ground. Denmark, Finland and Sweden surprised during the European elections with results that seemed to contradict the political drift in much of the rest of Europe. While this is a ‘ray of hope’ to many on the progressive spectrum, do these results really signify the development of a countertrend? And what might be the implications in the mid-term? The Rosa-Luxemburg’s Foundation’s Ada Regelmann gives a sober...
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "More than just an electoral upwind? Nordic left-wing parties after the EU elections"
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "More than just an electoral upwind? Nordic left-wing parties after the EU elections"
IMAGO / Ritzau Scanpix
The MeToo movement got off to a slow start in Denmark, with the initial conversation focusing as much on the movement’s legitimacy as on understanding and tackling the problem. Only when the public’s TV darling Sofie Linde shared her own experiences, and a substantial number of media professionals and young politicians teamed up, did the movement gain strength. A handful of prominent cases has since led to contract terminations for male individuals and to in-depth scrutiny internally in numerous companies and work branches, to amendments...
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "#OneOfUs – MeToo and the myth of gender-equal Denmark"
[:en]Read More[:de]Weiterlesen[:] "#OneOfUs – MeToo and the myth of gender-equal Denmark"