The Week That Was, November 21st-27th 2022:
Politics/Economy:
After three weeks of negotiations, caretaker prime minister Mette Frederiksen announced there’s a ‘good chance’ of an across the centre coalition – former prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen warned that a minority coalition consisting of the Social Democrats and Liberals (Venstre) only won’t have the authority, or seats, to push through much-needed reforms and suggested they form a government with his own Moderates party.
Denmark’s Democrats leader Inger Støjberg accused her former close ally, Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, of preferring to be in a coalition headed by Mette Frederiksen instead of remaining faithful to his colleagues on the right – Liberal Alliance (LA) leader Alex Vanopslagh warned that by moving towards the Social Democrats, the Liberal leader is slowly trying to kill off conservatism in Denmark. Red/Greens spokesperson, Mai Villadsen, accused Ms Frederiksen of ‘ turning her back on the left-wing’.
Newly-elected Moderates MP Klarskov resigned from parliament, Thursday, after Jyllands Posten revealed discrepancies in his CV – he admitted that he had never started a money-making company or created a lot of jobs, as claimed ahead of the election
More than 60,000 votes cast at the November 1st election were either blank or void – 46,272 voters chose to ‘not choose’ while 12,299 ballots were invalid.
A YouGov survey showed a majority of the electorate would support an independent legal inquiry into whether caretaker prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, should face an impeachment trial for her role in the Minkgate affair.
Consumer confidence rose slightly in November but households remain very pessimistic about their own finances – leading economist Jeppe Juul Borre of Arbejdernes Landsbank said the widespread negativism will continue to slow private spending, which will have a knock-on effect on the wider economy and lead to a decline in employment.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicted that unemployment in Denmark will rise to 5.7% next year and the Danish economy is heading for a severe slowdown in growth.
Foreign Affairs/EU:
The Faroe Islands, who earlier this year were accused of profiteering from the war in Ukraine by ignoring EU sanctions on Russia, signed a new fishing agreement with Moscow.
Major Kristian Lindhardt, a military researcher at the Danish Defence Academy, said a flyover by two Russian warplanes near NATO ships in the Baltic Sea, including the Danish frigate ‘Esbern Snare’ the previous week was a ’dangerous manoeuvre’ and a deliberate and symbolic move by Russia.
Nigeria warned it will seek to prosecute Danish special forces involved in a shoot-out with nine suspected Nigerian pirates in the Gulf of Guinea last November.
Danish People’s Party leader Morten Messerschmidt appeared in court for a retrial of the EU Meld and Feld fraud affair after parliament voted to waive his political immunity.
The first video footage of the damage to the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea region that’s part of the Danish exclusive economic zone (EEZ) confirmed it was coordinated explosions that caused the gas leaks in October.
A number of countries have expressed an interest in purchasing the Danish Air Force’s well-worn F16 fighter jets that over the next few years will be replaced by a new fleet of F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters, Denmark’s biggest-ever military investment.
The Danish Football Association (DBU) dismissed reports it could quit FIFA, football’s governing body, after Denmark’s captain Simon Kjaer, along with six other European nations, were banned from wearing a rainbow-coloured armband at the World Cup in Qatar to promote diversity and inclusion – gay rights organisations denounced DBU’s decision to drop the rainbow coloured ‘One Love’ captain’s armband after FIFA threatened sporting sanctions.
Inflation hit 11.5% in the EU last month, the highest since 1997 and only slightly more than the 11.4% registered for Denmark.
Social Affairs:
The number of people in employment rose by 6,300 in September to 2,971,900, an all-time high – over the past 20 months the employment rate has risen by 212,000.
Financial inequality in this country is at an unprecedented level – the so-called Gini coefficient, a measure of the distribution of income across a population, has risen to over 30 for the first time since data collection began in 1997, despite the government’s avowed goal to reduce inequality in society.
A Danish woman evacuated from the al-Roj detention camp in Syria in October 2021, alongside her five children, was sentenced to three years in prison by Esbjerg District Court.
A 33-year-old Afghanistan national was sentenced to 12 years in prison, with deportation to follow, for murdering his wife – the man, who worked as an interpreter for Danish troops in Afghanistan, was evacuated from Kabul with his family last year and offered residency in this country.
Business:
Shipping giant A.P. Møller-Maersk (APM) reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount with two former cadets who claimed they were raped on a Maersk Line training ship.
Novo Nordisk, the world’s biggest maker of insulin, announced plans to invest DKK 5.4bn ($750m) in the expansion of existing facilities in Bagsværd, north of Copenhagen.
Global food company Danish Crown announced plans to invest DKK850m (£113m) in a new bacon factory near Manchester in the UK.
Air India is reopening a direct route to Copenhagen that was closed down three years ago due to Covid.
PFA, the largest customer-owned pension company in Denmark, dropped two Chinese clothing manufacturers and is discussing how to handle its other China holdings due to an ‘increasing political risk factor.’
And that was The Week That Was, November 21st – 27th 2022: To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required).