­­­The Week That Was, October 3rd – October 9th, 2022:

Posted on 09. Oct, 2022 in: TWTW

Politics/Economy:

Following months of speculation, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen finally pulled the election trigger, Wednesday – Danish voters will go to the ballots on November 1st, with a total of 14 parties contesting parliament’s 179 seats. Ms Frederiksen said ‘it’s time to test a new form of government in Denmark’ and she would seek to form a broad coalition reaching across the political aisle at a time of international uncertainty – the proposal was immediately shot down by parties on both right and left. In her opening speech to parliament, Ms Frederiksen touched on the biggest challenges facing the next government – inflation, welfare spending, climate change and security.

The latest Megafon survey for TV2 showed the ‘red’ bloc of parties are on course to win 47.5% of the vote and 83 seats, against the opposition’s 46.2%/81 seats, with neither side able to muster the 90 seats needed for an overall majority.

The prime minister said she definitely won’t be stepping down as party leader if the Social Democrats lose the upcoming election.

Danish Intelligence (PET) has set up a special task force to monitor possible foreign interference in the general election, especially from Russia.

A new government report echoed  British wartime hero Winston Churchill, who 76 years ago warned of a Soviet ’Iron Curtain’ descending on the European continent – the ‘Zelmer’ report, put together by the Defence Ministry and Danish Military with the help of 75 experts,  projected a ‘dark and uncertain’ future for Denmark and named Russia 200 times.

Foreign Affairs/EU:

Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said he would continue to criticise and condemn Russia’s behaviour ‘in the strongest possible terms’ after Russia’s Ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin,was summoned to explain his country’s annexation of four regions of Ukraine.

The Swedish Security Service confirmed that “detonations” caused extensive damage to the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines last week but declined to provide further details – Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Denmark and  Sweden already know who the pipeline saboteurs are.

Denmark, Germany, and Norway agreed to jointly finance eight new Zuzana-2 howitzer guns for the Ukrainian army, costing DKK 685m (€92m) – Denmark is donating DKK230m (€30.1m) for the guns that will be produced in Slovakia, with delivery to Ukraine to begin in 2023.

Danish Defence is sending two air ambulance helicopters to Bosnia, the first official military contribution to an EU-led operation since voters ditched the defence-opt out last June.

Denmark urged the EU to impose sanctions on Iran for violent repressing protests that erupted after the death of the 22-year old Mahsa Amini.

A Danish fishing boat was warned to ‘keep its distance’ by a Russian warship in the Bay of Aalbæk, north-east Denmark, Thursday – Defence Command Denmark said two Russian warships, a tugboat and a tanker have been stationed in international waters in the bay since Sunday.

The National Police (Rigspolitiet) confirmed ‘unauthorised drone activity’ last weekend close to the Danish Halfdan B oil and gas field in the North Sea.

A mysterious Danish human rights organisation urged FIFA, the international governing body of football, to make refereees in the upcoming Qatar World Cup wear armbands stating ‘stop racism in Denmark.’

Social Affairs:

The long-term unemployment rate is at the lowest level since 1996 and the lowest in the EU – the latest figures showed only 13,100 long-term unemployed were registered in August, a 26-year-low, compared to more than 40,000 eighteen months ago

Business:

Despite widespread consumer pessimism, retail sales edged up 0.1 percent month-on-month in August, after rising 0.2 percent in July.

Following galloping inflation and record low consumer confidence, the business confidence index dropped notably to 94.3 in September from 100.1 the previous month.

Shipping giant Maersk will begin to slow the pace of its container ships to lower fuel costs after sailing at full speed to keep up with demand during the pandemic.

And That was ­­­the Week That Was, October 3rd – October 9th, 2022: To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required).