Danish politics thread 2016

Lets

http://denmark.dk/en/society/government-and-politics/

V informative

http://images-cdn.9gag.com/photo/2648748_700b.jpg

Who, these guys?

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/26/europe/denmark-vote-jewelry-bill-migrants/

this is obv the denmark story of the moment: http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/01/25/464300740/denmark-wants-to-become-a-little-bit-less-attractive-to-refugees

Denmark is expected to adopt a law on Tuesday requiring police to seize cash and other valuables from some asylum seekers as they enter the country. The seizures, which would go toward defraying the cost of refugee care, are being widely criticized as a violation of human rights.

xp jinx

there are like 5 million people in denmark. give them a box of chocolate and some herring once a year and they are good to go. not much going on.

where is the anti-Zwarte Piete party

I love herring can this just be the rolling herring thread

i wouldn't think anyone in denmark would ever have to work or pay for anything ever. just live off the herring money.

you're just a slave to the herring lobby

Ok, I know this is not for that, but can someone sometime please explain to me why it's always Denmark and the Netherlands that get's confused?

Leftism in Denmark is pure red herring

blame the Dutch!

xp

x-post: Too true...

Licorice: How salty is too salty?

It can never be too salty! I'm out of salty licorice for the night, and it's bumming me out.

I want to try salty licorice but the only local store that sells it sells the one with the really racist package

Ok, I know this is not for that, but can someone sometime please explain to me why it's always Denmark and the Netherlands that get's confused?

― Frederik B, Tuesday, February 9, 2016 3:16 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

seems insane to mix these up imo

Never heard of this confusion tbh

saw an anthony bourdain show about creative cuisine in copenhagen, looked pretty wild

the director/organist of my church choir is from Denmark and is one of the chillest, coolest people I've ever met

he also speaks something like 8 languages fluently

i once went to a bakery called copenhagen pastry. it was not good. they did not sell danishes, strangely enough

i think the confusion is bc ppl from netherlands are dutch, but that doesn't sound anything like netherlands, but it does share a d with denmark

also they're pretty close to each other geographically speaking!

also they are the same country

belgnethermark

I didn't know that Denmark and the Netherlands got mixed up all that often, but if the Danes also like salty licorice, I could see a reason why.

(Salty licorice = classic btw)

http://godisbloggen.se/wp-content/uploads/bilder/m__sskit_blogg.jpg

excuse me but is there a reason this thread is not about smorrebrod?

To an outsider, both Denmark and the Netherlands appear to be full of dairy cows in grassy pastures. Perhaps this might explain their being mistaken for one another by a few unobservant people.

I really didn't dare hope that this thread would so perfectly fill up with yanks talking about anything but Danish politics

amsterdam and copenhagen are both famous abroad for their red light districts (?)

It was, like, CONSTANTLY in the US. 'Oh, you're from Denmark? Like, tulips? That guy over there is Dutch as well, go talk to him!'

i saw a danish political thriller about ten years ago. i didn't really get it, seemed kind of low-stakes in all honesty.

xp man that is weird

don't blame me I voted for Helle Thorning-Schmidt

xp

of course, i grew up in a town still heavily dominated by ethnic dutch people (in a state that millions of americans will confuse with idaho and ohio, mind you) and now live in a state still dominated by ethnic scandinavians

After the first time I went to Germany, one of my high school classmates excitedly asked me if I met Boris Becker. Americans are weird about geography (and probability).

Is this true:

Don’t panic if you see a baby sleeping outside in his/her pram. In Denmark, that’s normal. Whether it’s raining or snowing, the babies in Denmark can sleep outside, as long as they are wearing the right clothing. Moreover, parents can leave their babies outside the shops or cafes without any worries of someone stealing their baby.

Frederik what is up with Dithmarschen? i know it's in germany but it's so close.

xp when i was in dublin someone kept asking a friend of mine if he knew mike tyson

tbph the only time i'm interested in danish politics are when i see an article that is embarrassing to denmark and i think of fred :p

makes sense, who would want to steal a Danish baby

xp

xp when i was in dublin someone kept asking a friend of mine if he knew mike tyson

I would understand that if your friend was Evander Holyfield

i had a robin givens joke all cued up, but no

haaa

thread delivers

we are all very much aware of the danish concept of hygge through many articles in venerable media outlets:

Hygge: A heart-warming lesson from Denmark http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34345791

Winter Doldrums Got You Down? Have Some 'Hygge' http://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2012/01/30/146080892/winter-doldrums-got-you-down-have-some-hygge

Is the secret of happiness contained in this Danish word? http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/key-work-life-balance-contained-danish-word/

Get cosy: why we should all embrace the Danish art of 'hygge' http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wellbeing/mood-and-mind/Danish-cosy-hygge-lifestyle-cosiness-winter-warmth-Nordic-Danes-Scandi-home-interiors/

How 'hygge' can help you get through winter http://www.mnn.com/family/family-activities/blogs/how-hygge-can-help-you-get-through-winter

How to Bring Danish Hygge Into Your Home This Winter http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/melanie-haynes/how-to-bring-danish-hygge-to-your-home_b_8344886.html

The Secret To Danish Happiness http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/secrets-danish-happiness_us_5630f211e4b06317991050dc

Our Hygge moment: How a Danish cultural concept can help cut through the dark Minnesota winter https://www.minnpost.com/arts-culture/2013/12/our-hygge-moment-how-danish-cultural-concept-can-help-cut-through-dark-minnesot

This cozy Danish custom could help cure your winter blues http://mashable.com/2015/01/17/hygge/#w6U.1O6BTSqk

Danish word hyggeligt defies translation http://www.sfgate.com/travel/departures/article/Danish-word-hyggeligt-defies-translation-4563603.php

The Power Of “Hygge”—A.K.A. The Danish Concept Of Cozy Together Time http://www.mothermag.com/hygge/

Blizzard 2016 Got You Down? Embrace the Danish Concept of Hygge http://www.wired.com/2016/01/your-best-blizzard-prep-is-an-understanding-of-hygge/

question: how much does the danish cultural concept of hygge figure into danish politics?

Yeah, why wouldn't you keep you're baby outside? If you can see the pram from the window.

Dithmarschen used to be under the Danish king, we lost it in 1864.

Lol, Mordy. Mind you, when something is embarrassing for Denmark, it's usually an idea by someone I voted against :)

I don't know how much 'hygge' features into Danish politics, rarely explicitly. But I'd guess there's an idea that immigrants aren't very 'hyggelige', that might be one of the reasons we're so racist?

we don't trust anyone in the US. everyone is out to steal our babies.

Nah he was asking if u knew mike, tadhg's son

why, I stole several babies just this morning

xp

i saw a danish political thriller about ten years ago. i didn't really get it, seemed kind of low-stakes in all honesty.

― goole, 9. februar 2016 22:50 (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This one?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP4-20XOeGU

Yeah, why wouldn't you keep you're baby outside? If you can see the pram from the window.

you should at least tie the pram to a tree or something

Well, it's not really the pram that people care about...

Which is strange. Most ppl I know can make a baby but fuck all of em are worth a damn in perambulator manufacture

i don't think that's it, but it could be? it was media/political thriller iirc

nope, turns out, that's the movie. huh.

It's the debut feature by Nicolaj Arcel, who was later oscar-nominated for A Royal Affair. He is pretty good. The plot is fictional, but it's heavily based on real stories from Danish politics, so I can see how it would seem kinda insular.

What percentage of your citizens are thriller novelists? What percentage are elves?

Denmark rhymes with Netherlands

Also, Demmark has two syllables, like Holland

Is this really a thing y/n and if so why

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBcJZ3-cJKc

That's The Kingdom by Lars von Trier! Other than that, I'm not sure I get the question?

lol i was looking for a clip of that rant earlier

I know Riget/The Kingdom well! I just mean: is Swede vs. Danish bigotry actually a thing or is that just a ridiculous character trait of a ridiculous character.

I am always confusing Denmark and California
http://www.elverhoj.org/images/history/Solvang.jpg

From that place, I assume that every Danish city must decide how to best divide its resources between the production of Æbleskiver, wine, tchotchkes, and year-round christmas stores.

Sweden vs Denmark is def a thing, especially as the politics of the two countries has changed. Basically, Swedes seem to think of Denmark - accurately - as a conservative hellhole, and Danes use Sweden the way The Atlantic uses college students. #NotAllSwedes, though, spent 10 days in Gothenburg talking cinema, almost everyone seems to think that Danish cinema is much more exciting that their own, which of course I disagree with.

And then there are Norwegians, whom nobody really cares about, but they always butt in with denigrating comments about Denmark and Sweden. And we have no response, for nobody cares about Norway. There's a film about that:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTWtILWG0rc

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2016/03/10/liberal-harsh-denmark/

Visitors to Denmark will find the Danish flag on everything from public buses to butter wrappers; many of the country’s defining institutions, from its universal secondary education (Folkehøjskoler—the People’s High Schools) to the parliament (Folketinget—the People’s House) to the Danish national church (Folkekirken—the People’s Church) to the concept of democracy itself (Folkestyret—the Rule of the People) have been built to reinforce a strong sense of folke, the Danish people.

But in Denmark, the police force is regarded as an extension of the social welfare system and [social worker] Pedersen also makes it clear, to the young men especially, that he works closely with law enforcement. As last year’s shooting reveals, it doesn’t always work. But city officials in Copenhagen and in Aarhus, Denmark’s second city, describe some cases in which local authorities, drawing on daily contact with young and often disaffected Muslims, including jihadists returning from Syria, have been able to preempt extremist behavior.

Good article. 'Folke' is not a word, though (It's a name). It's Folk or Folket. And it's not 'Folkehøjskoler', it's just 'Folkeskolen'. Folkehøjskoler is something else.

Oh man, I was watching a film tonight - Even Dwarves Started Small - and meanwhile Danish politics exploded. As you all know, we have a parliamentary system in Denmark. There are four parties currently supporting the liberal government, under Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. Well, the smallest party, the conservatives, just said tonight that they've lost confidence in another minister, the one for Farming and the Environment - if that sounds like an unusual combination, it is! - as she's put forth math on a plan which all experts says is misleading, and has refused to admit it. This happens from time to time, but it was really blatant this time.

Normally, this would mean that the minister resigns, and a new one is chosen. But the prime minister has so far decided to play tough, and tweeted that the right wing parties would take a meeting to see if they could still form a government. If the minister doesn't resign, and isn't fired, the conservatives only has the choice of either taking down the government, or having their bluff called, which would be massively embarrassing.

So, y'know, we might get another election, less than a year after the last one. At the very least, it's very entertaining.

This is so much fun. It's the Danish version of when Boehner resigned, I think. And we might get a new election out of it!

How u like them bears

Drama in Danish politics! We're getting a new government! It'll still be a right-wing government, but where before there was only one party in government supported by three other parties, the Prime Minister has asked two of the smaller supporting parties to join his government. Talks begin monday. This'll be fun.

Problem is, the four parties are so far apart. There's the Libertarians, who thinks lower taxes for the rich means everything. There's the Conservatives, who has been decimated as the populists have overtaken their patriotism. There's the Populists, our Trump-lites, who is the biggest party of them all with 37 mandates. And then there's the Liberals, the ones in charge, who has had the Prime Minister post for 12 of the last 15 years, but has lost a lot of mandates due to the scandals of Lars Løkke Rasmussen. This is not an easy coalition, the parties are far apart on a lot of things, and the leading party, the Liberals, are becoming weaker and weaker.

The problem is taxes. The Libertarians has promised to take down the government if they don't get a 5% tax cut to the riches, while the Populists, who has almost three times as many mandates as the Libertarians, has promised to block such a cut. There's almost nothing to do about it, so Lars Løkke Rasmussen will try and get the Libertarians to change their minds by giving him posts in government...

He is basically buying them off with positions, that is now held by members of his own party. The real fun is that there was a second possibility: He could resign and let someone else have a fresh start, so he basically chose to fire his party-members to safe his own job. Such a great leader. He has already come close to being fired as leader of the party due to his many many scandals, and I'm guessing they all feel really happy for sticking with him now.

Wow, that was quite long. The reason I wanted to post it is to remind everyone how hard it is to govern, especially in a coalition between the rich elite and populists promising to focus on helping the little man, a coalition that is always based on deceit to begin with :) It can all come tumbling down quite easily.

Mette Frederiksen: Classic or dud?