The Week That Was, October 19th – October 25th 2020:
Coronavirus/ What happened last week:
With the number of registered corona cases fast approaching 1,000 per day the government announced a raft of new measures aimed at breaking the chain of infection, including mandatory facemasks in supermarkets and indoor public places, a ban on alcohol sales, and an immediate cap on public gatherings of more than 10 people for at least four weeks.
The Liberals urged the prime minister to strip Food Minister Mogens Jensen of all responsibility for the mink industry, claiming that his strategy of culling millions of mink on farms infected with the corona virus will destroy business.
Politics/Economy:
A new opinion poll showed the ‘red’ government alliance, at 50.8%, and the ‘blue’ opposition, at 49.2%, are virtually neck and neck – the Social Democrats have lost some of the goodwill built up during the corona crisis while their parliamentary ally, the Social Liberals (Radikale), struggling with a sexism scandal, would lose nearly half their seats if an election was held now.
Lord Mayor of Copenhagen Frank Jensen stepped down in the latest MeToo scandal to hit Danish politics – 59-year-old Frank Jensen said he was resigning with immediate effect after several women came forward accusing him of sexual misconduct.
The Social Democrats’ policy spokesman, 39-year-old Jesper Petersen, admitted to having a ‘one-night, consensual relationship’ with a 15-year-old girl when he was 20, one day after Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she expects more sexual harassment allegations in the wake of the Frank Jensen scandal.
The Conservatives stripped MP Orla Østerby of all his spokesperson positions following allegations of ‘inappropriate behavior’ against party colleague Brigitte Klintskov Jerkel in 2017.
Sofie Carsten Nielsen survived a stormy crisis meeting of party MPs and will continue as Social Liberal (Radikale) leader – she later denied she was play-acting when appearing in a video on October 3rd denouncing sexism, alongside her disgraced predecessor Morten Østergaard, even though she was aware of a number of sex allegations against him at the time.
The Danish People’s Party (DPP) said the story of the controversial Mohammed cartoons should be made a permanent part of education in Danish schools – the Liberals (V) deputy leader Inger Støjberg received death threats after re-posting one of the cartoons on her Facebook page.
Finance Minister Nicolai Wammen appointed a new ’employment commission’ with the aim of encouraging more people to seek work without using the ‘carrot and stick’ approach.
Queen Margrethe cancelled her New Year galas for the government, members of the military, and foreign ambassadors due to the continued spread of COVID-19 in this country.
Danish consumers have become slightly more optimistic despite concerns about rising unemployment – the latest Statistics Denmark data showed the consumer confidence indicator rose to -6.2 in October, from -7.4 in September.
Foreign Affairs/EU:
Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod was reported to the police for allegedly raping the 15-year-old girl he has admitted to having consensual sex with at a Social Democrat youth wing seminar at Esbjerg High School in 2008 – a leading defence lawyer said it’s unlikely he’ll face charges if the alleged victim remains silent.
The corona pandemic has moved Denmark closer to meeting NATO’s 2% defence spending demand – a new NATO report showed Denmark will spend 1.47% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) on defence this year.
Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod met with Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was in Copenhagen to receive Politiken’s freedom award.
Danish companies are enjoying unprecedented success in the USA despite President Trump’s ‘America first’ campaign – a new business survey showed Danish exports to the world’s biggest economy have grown by more than DKK40bn ($6bn) – 10,000 Danish jobs are dependent upon trade with the U.S. which has become Denmark’s second-biggest export market, after Germany
Danish defence and aerospace manufacturer Terma was reported to the police for supplying military equipment for use in the civil war in Yemen.
Social Affairs:
‘Submarine Slayer’ Peter Madsen, given a life sentence in 2018 for the brutal murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall, was remanded in custody, Wednesday, after admitting to threatening prison staff and others during an attempt to escape from prison.
Two neo-Nazis were found guilty of desecrating graves in a Jewish churchyard last year on the 81st anniversary of Kristallnacht in Germany
The latest Global Pension Index report from international consultancy company Mercer showed Denmark has the 2nd-best pension system pension in the world.
Business:
Sweden followed Denmark by prohibiting Huawei from playing a role in building 5G networks.
A German businessman was charged with helping a former top executive at Velux, the world’s leading manufacturer of roof windows and skylights, to sell trade secrets to a Polish rival.
Despite an increasing number of internet fraud cases, a new Danske Bank study showed only 22% of people in this country are concerned about becoming a victim of cybercrime.