A few thoughts after being interviewed by RTE (Irish radio, which you can listen to here) about Denmark’s decision to confiscate jewellery and cash worth more than 10,000 Danish Kroner (£1,000) from refugees. Today the Migrant Bill passed through Danish Parliament, despite international opposition. It also means that asylum seekers have to wait three years before… Continue Reading
The Danes have done it before and now they’ve done it again. Just when Brussels was counting on Denmark to vote ‘yes’ in an EU referendum, the country has said ‘no’. Or as one tabloid headline put it rather delicately this morning: “Løkke fik f***-fingeren”, which loosely translates as Denmark gave their prime minister the… Continue Reading
I originally wrote this opinion piece for the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten, which they translated into Danish (you can read the Danish version here.) ‘More EU? No Thanks!’ shout the posters at me as I walk along the street. As a Briton, I’m quite used to this kind of anti-EU rhetoric. But this isn’t London… Continue Reading
I’ve just got back from a ‘refugees welcome’ rally held outside the Danish Parliament, Christiansborg, in Copenhagen. The police tweeted that around 30,000 turned out and it certainly felt packed. It’s been a strange week for Denmark. Most outside this country of just over 5.5 million, think it’s a liberal, welcoming state. At times the reality… Continue Reading
An equal society, a happy nation, the least corrupt country in the world. Denmark has a lot going for it, particularly when it comes to soft power. But just how welcoming is it to foreigners? Well, I had a simple question I wanted answered: What is Denmark’s policy on Syrian refugees? Given that its neighbours,… Continue Reading
I wrote this piece this morning for The Huffington Post and you can see it on their website here. Otherwise, it’s in full below, with some extra comments from Helle Thorning-Schmidt’s husband, Stephen Kinnock. ______________________ In the early hours of this morning, Helle Thorning-Schmidt resigned as Danish Prime Minister and leader of the Social Democrats.… Continue Reading
The results are almost in and I confess that I’ve been finding these Danish local elections rather exciting. OK, they’re not quite Borgen and certainly not The Killing. But over at Copenhagen’s City Hall there is a real-life political drama going on over who controls what. With so many parties, Danish politics is complicated. But… Continue Reading
It’s not quite Borgen I’m afraid, but I have just voted in Denmark’s local and regional elections. In Copenhagen there are SEVEN mayors, not to mention all those councillors. One though, the Lord Mayor, is the overall boss. So the system is pretty different to the UK. Once I’d handed over my voting card at… Continue Reading
On Monday, while filming a report for Al Jazeera English, I met some of the candidates standing in next week’s local and regional elections here in Denmark. What struck me most was just how young they were. Take Caroline – just 22 and already fully immersed in Danish politics. She was one of five taking… Continue Reading
I began Danish lessons this week – just as a new campaign was launched in the UK urging Britons to learn 1,000 words in a foreign language. As my course is paid for by the Danish government, it seemed foolish not to try. But the warnings are right – this is a fiendishly difficult language.… Continue Reading
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