The Week That Was, May 23rd–29th 2022:
Politics/Economy:
Former immigration minister Inger Støjberg promised to address questions regarding her political future after summer – at a ‘thank you party’ in Hadsund, her first public appearance without the electronic ankle tag she was fitted with in January following her conviction in the child brides affair, Ms Støjberg was accompanied by New Right leader Pernille Vermund and former Danish People’s Party leader Kristian Thulesen Dahl, fuelling speculation that the anti-migrant trio could be on the verge of starting a new party.
The Danish People’s Party (DPP) the biggest party on the right following the 2015 election with 21.1% and 37 seats, has sunk to a new low – the latest Voxmeter poll for TV2 showed only 4.3% of the electorate would vote for the populist party if an election was held right now.
Support for nuclear power is on the rise for the first time in nearly 50 years – as recently as six years ago, two-thirds of the electorate were still opposed to nuclear power but a new Megafon poll for Politiken and TV2 showed 36% are now in favour, while only 40% oppose.
Increasing pessimism about the economy was reflected in the latest Consumer Confidence Index (CCI), which has fallen to -22.4, the lowest ever recorded – a new report by the Boston Consulting Group showed 26% of the population expect to spend an average of 15% less this year.
EU/Foreign Affairs:
The final Gallup poll before Wednesday’s EU referendum indicated Denmark’s defence opt-out is heading for the trash can – 57% said they would vote ‘yes’ to drop the controversial opt-out, with only 28% in favour of maintaining the reservation.
Following a virtual meeting of international defence ministers, Monday, U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he was especially grateful to Denmark, ‘which announced today that it will provide a Harpoon launcher and missiles to help Ukraine defend its coast.’
A heavily redacted U.S. defence report seen by Berlingske suggested the USA has wide-reaching plans for a military build-up in the Arctic and is ready to invest millions of dollars to upgrade its ageing Thule Air Force Base in Northern Greenland.
Defence Minister Morten Bødskov and his Nordic counterparts gathered on the Danish island of Bornholm, Tuesday as Denmark and the USA carried out joint training as part of the NATO DEFENDER-Europe 22 exercise – he told reporters: “Today’s military exercise sends a strong signal that the United States and Denmark are united on deterrence in the Baltic Sea region.” Russia’s ambassador to Denmark warned that the arrival of a missile-carrying U.S. C-17 military transport plane on the island could escalate tensions in the Baltic region.
Russia blocked internet access to Politiken because the left-leaning daily continues to publish articles covering the war in Ukraine, in Russian.
Former Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen criticised Germany for its slow response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine – in an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt the ex-NATO secretary-general, a former advisor to Ukraine’s ex-president Petro Poroshenko, claimed the German government was ‘far too hesitant to supply heavy weapons and impose sanctions.’
Denmark is opening a new embassy in Georgia, part of the recently agreed defence bill in which money was also appropriated to strengthen diplomacy in countries surrounding Ukraine – Danish embassies in the Balkans, central and eastern Europe, and the recently reopened mission in Kyiv have also been given more funding.
The Danish and British navies signed a deal to develop a new type of warship – the British Royal Navy has ordered five frigates based on the Danish Navy’s Iver Huitfeldt-class, which have proven themselves around the globe over the past decade.
Social Affairs:
33-year-old Jacob El-Ali, a Danish citizen who posted images of himself on Facebook in 2014 holding decapacitated heads and wearing a bullet belt stating ‘Islamic State for Iraq and the Levant’, is expected to plead guilty to treason.
Denmark received 200 monkeypox vaccines from the Netherlands and could buy thousands more after two cases of monkeypox were reported this week – Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that the coronavirus could start to spread again this Autumn.
Only 203 of the 27,365 Ukrainian refugees who’ve arrived in Denmark have so far found work – less than 1%.
A Danish Jehovah’s Witness was released from a Russian prison, Tuesday, where he’s spent the past five years after being found guilty of promoting religious extremism.
A Danish national was sentenced to death by hanging in Nigeria – a court found Peter Nielsen,54, guilty of killing his Nigerian wife and their three-year-old daughter.
Business:
Copenhagen Airport’s total revenue of DKK577m ($81.6m) in the year’s first first quarter (Q1) was 205.1% up on the same period last year – however, compared to the first quarter of 2019, or the pre-Covid-19 period, revenue was still down by 40.6%.
Danish home furnishing chain Jysk reopened 71 of its stores in Ukraine after a complete shutdown in February following Russia’s invasion.
Danish engineering group Topsoe announced plans to build Europe’s biggest plant making electrolysers – machines that produce the green hydrogen considered a cornerstone of the shift to cleaner energy.
And That was The Week That Was, May 23rd–29th 2022: To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required).