The Week That Was, August 20th – August 26th 2018
Politics/Economy
The latest Epinion voter survey for DR News projected an overall gain for the five centre-right alliance parties, who would win 87 seats if an election was held today – seven more than the opposition parties but still three short of the 90 needed for an overall majority. Another poll showed the far-right New Conservatives would win 2.2% of the vote and enter parliament with four seats.
Opposition leader Mette Frederiksen’s favourability ratings have dipped as the election gets closer – in a head to head with Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, only 35% of voters see her as the most credible of the two, compared to 58% three years ago.
The war of words on the left continued when Social Liberal (R) leader Morten Østergaard accused Social Democrat leader Mette Frederiksen of being willing to say anything to become prime minister. Socialist People’s Party (SPP) leader Pia Olsen Dyhr warned that the opposition will never be able to topple Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen if the ’chaos’ on the left continues – Ms Frederiksen acknowledged the division on the left but made no effort to downplay the tension between ‘red bloc’ parties. Analysts agreed that Social Liberal leader Morten Østergaard put his leadership on the line by refusing to support a centre-left coalition after the next election unless offered firm political guarantees about future immigration policy.
The government increased the budget for culture by DKK400m over the next four years after being criticised for making large scale cutbacks.
Opposition parties summoned Tax Minister Karsten Lauritzen to a parliamentary consultation to explain why the National Audit Office withheld ratification of national revenue figures provided by the tax authority (SKAT).
Justice Minister Søren Pape Poulsen denied the police employ facial recognition technology when monitoring public events.
The Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) sounded the alarm about the lack of skilled foreign manpower.
EU/Foreign Affairs:
Finance Minister Kristian Jensen warned that the EU and Great Britain are running out of time and there’s a 50-50 chance of Britain crashing out without an agreement in place.
Justice Minister Søren Pape Poulsen declined to comment on reports that a Turkish resident, a supporter of the Gulen movement, was placed in a ‘safe house’ last year by Danish Intelligence (PET) because of a death threat.
The EU Commission approved three Danish renewable energy schemes, worth a total €144 million euros ($164 million).
A top Danish diplomat was given a reprimand for abuse of public funding – the Auditor General (Rigsrevisionen) found that ‘troubleshooter’ ambassador Peter Taksøe-Jensen stayed at luxury hotels and flew business class in contravention of foreign ministry guidelines.
A new report by statistics agency Eurostat showed Denmark had the highest consumer prices in the EU last year.
Exports to China fell by 9.4% during the first two quarters of this year compared to 2017 as Chinese GDP growth slows.
A special exhibition, ‘Design China’, opened at the Danish Chamber of Commerce’s historic site Børssalen in central Copenhagen
Social Affairs:
More than 1,000 refugees have been stripped of their residency permits over the past year yet only 25 have left the country – the Danish People’s Party (DPP) urged the government to speed up the repatriation process.
A majority of the electorate would be willing to pay more to help the climate – in a new Gallup poll, 57% of respondents said they agree that the state should impose, or increase, duties and taxes goods and services that are damaging to the environment.
155 welfare frauds have been caught by tax controllers at Copenhagen and Aalborg airports in a sting operation that has brought in around DKK1m.
Copenhagen was ranked third on The Reputation Institute’s annual study of the world’s most reputable cities but recognised this year as the world’s safest city – at the same time, three well-known Danish attractions were listed on Time Magazine’s first annual list of the World’s Greatest Places: The Experimentarium in Hellerup, the Tivoli fairground and the Noma restaurant.
To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required)
Business:
The Danish tax authority (SKAT) launched a legal action in London against two major investment banks, Barclays and National Westminster, in a move to force them to release information regarding 71 individuals and corporate entities who allegedly received unlawful tax refunds from Denmark.
The agricultural sector projected its biggest deficit since the financial crisis following the summer drought and record low pork prices – farmers are facing a collective DKK7-8m loss.
Danish pig producers are facing a record low turnover due to the drought and an increasing production of pigs in China and in the US.
Two of Denmark’s biggest pension funds, PKA and Danica, were referred to the State Prosecutor for Serious Economic and International Crime (SØIK) over suspected competition violations.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) signed an €81m (US$93m) loan agreement with Copenhagen Airport to help finance a state-of-the-art passenger and hand baggage security screening concept.
A.P. Moller-Maersk, the world’s biggest shipping company, announced plans to ‘de-merger’ its offshore drilling operation from next year as it moves towards a complete exit from the energy industry and becomes a transport only business – Maersk became the first company to send a commercial container ship from the Pacific to the North Atlantic through Russia’s Northern Sea Route.
Novo Nordisk, the world’s top insulin maker, acquired a British firm in a deal that could potentially exceed $800 million.
France’s President Macron is scheduled to attend a business forum on August 29th at Industriens Hus, the Copenhagen headquarters of The Confederation of Danish Industry (DI), under the banner ‘Transforming France: A Nordic Perspective’.
And That Was The Week That Was, August 19th – August 25th 2018: To read all the above articles in full see: http://seven59.dk/archive (subscription required).