The Week That Was, April 23rd – April 29th 2018

Politics/Economy:

Greenland’s ruling Siumut party won Tuesday’s general election but with a reduced share of the vote – 27 percent, down from 34 percent four years ago. Left-leaning Inuit Ataqatigiit took 25.5 percent of the vote, while the centre-right Democrats came in third – Prime Minister Kim Kielsen’s ruling party is now likely to start coalition talks with either the left-wing Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) party or centrist Demokraterne.

The government warned it will vote against a citizens’ bill to stop non-medical circumcision of boys in this country.

The Red/Green Alliance laid out a political platform containing 100 socialist proposals inspired by fellow socialist parties in Europe, such as a state-controlled non-profit bank, DKK7bn in tax cuts for low earners, free dental treatment, and cheaper collective transport.

The Social Democrats fired their development aid spokeswoman for defying the party line on the ban the burka bill that’s currently passing through parliament.

The Social Democrats and Danish People’s Party (DPP) rejected the government’s proposal to jail public sector professionals who fail to protect vulnerable children.

Denmark’s retail sales increased for the first time in four months in March – turnover rose 0.4 percent month-over-month in March, reversing a 0.1 percent drop in the previous month. However, consumer confidence fell to 7.1 in April, the lowest this year.

EU/Foreign Affairs:

Integration Minister Inger Støjberg held talks with Minister for the Interior Horst Seehofer in Berlin about the new German government’s suspension of family reunification for refugees granted only temporary protection.

Two former Social Democrat cabinet ministers, Nick Hækkerup and Mogens Lykketoft (S), claimed to be the victims of Russian fake news following a report on Moscow-controlled NTV station about the new, 85 metre-tall telecommunications mast built by Danish Military Intelligence (Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste /FE) to monitor Russian transmissions.

As the co-host of a UN-EU conference in Brussels on the future of Syria that got underway in Brussels, Wednesday, Minister of Development Cooperation Ulla Tørnæs stressed the need for international support – and at the same time led the way by pledging DKK730m ($125m) from Denmark.

Denmark dropped a couple of places to 4th on the latest Quality of Nationality Index (QNI), which ranks nationalities based on economic strength, human development, peace, stability, and visa-free travel .

Margrethe Vestager, Denmark’s EU Competition Commissioner, continued her battle with multinationals by opening an investigation into Apple’s bid for British music discovery app Shazam.

Copenhagen Police but could be facing demands from hundreds of demonstrators  who feel their civil liberties were infringed during a state visit in 2012 by China’s president at the time, Hu Jintao.

Social Affairs:

The ‘Submarine Slayer’, 47-year-old inventor Peter Madsen, was sentenced to life imprisonment, Wednesday, after being found guilty of torturing and murdering Swedish reporter Kim Wall before dismembering her body.

The employment rate in this country hit a record high in February, with 2,732, 423 wage earners, an increase of 3,800 on January.

The possibility of a public-sector strike that could have paralysed the nation diminished after the powerful Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) reached a unilateral compromise with employers, Wednesday.

A new report by the National Board of Health (Sundhedsstyrelsen) showed Muslim women have the highest abortion rate in Denmark relative to their population share.

A new report claimed increasing the price of a packet of cigarettes to DKK90 is the most effective method to deter teenagers from smoking – 15% of all young people continue to smoke on a daily basis, despite figures showing 14,000 people die in this country every year from a tobacco-related disease.

The Royal Family posted a DKK 2.8m loss in 2017, primarily due to extra health care personnel to take care of ailing Prince Henrik who passed away earlier this year.

 To read all the above articles in full see:  http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required)

Business:

Danish business leaders, lawmakers, and military analysts expressed concern that Greenland is threatening US-Denmark relations after a Chinese construction company received official approval to submit a tender to expand three airports in the country.

Dairy giant Arla Foods said it needs to save at least DKK3bn (€400) because currency losses soared after Britain voted to leave the European Union.

Copenhagen Business School (CBS) is testing an electronic payment system with no cards or pin codes – just a fingertip.

American Teradyne acquired Danish robot company Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) in a potential DKK1.7bn ($290m) deal.

And That Was The Week That Was, April 23rd – April 29th 2018: To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required).