CPH POST 13 -27 June 2019

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CPHPOST.DK 14 - 27 June 2019

ELECTION FOCUS The winners and losers in last week’s general election

4-5

OPINION

Staying the course New Chinese ambassador is an advocate of free trade

COOLNESS COMES CHEAPLY

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A long wait for justice Victims of violence and white collar crime increasingly overlooked by the police

HISTORY Recalling a footballing era when Denmark’s women ruled the world

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HISTORY

Bridge over hallowed water Two decades after completion, life is unthinkable without it

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T

HE POLICE are not doing their job – or rather they lack the resources to perform the duties expected of them since the February 2015 terror shootings.

Pending investigation THE ALLOCATION of resources to protect Copenhagen’s Jewish institutions and other terror targets, as well as maintaining an increased presence at the country’s border with Germany, has seen investigations into violent crime plummet.

In 2017, at least 500 cases were waiting to be investigated, and that number has now risen to 1,000, reports TV2.

Unfelt white collars LIKEWISE, fewer white collar crimes are being investigated, despite the highly-publicised, ongoing case against accused embezzler Britta Nielsen.

In the last two years, the number of prosecutions brought against company directors has fallen from 385 to 54, reports DR. New procedures ACCORDING to the Rigspolitiet national police force, it is a matter of prioritising resources.

However, in the case of violent crimes, the police are implementing new procedures to ensure a more rapid turnover of cases. (CPH POST)

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Royal Run 2 a hit

Our very own Jupiter

ANOTHER Royal Run in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg and Rønne on June 10 attracted 82,000 participants – 10,000 more than last year.

Among them were Crown Prince Frederik, who hobbled 1.6 km in the capital, his wife Mary, who ran 5 km in Aarhus, and Sofie Mikkelsen, a woman paralysed from the waist down, who ran wearing an ‘exoskeleton’.

THE INTERNATIONAL Astronomical Union has given Denmark the honour of rechristening an exoplanet discovered in 2011, as well as the star it orbits around. The public are invited to send in name bids at danmarksplaneten.dk, and a committee will choose the three best proposals for everyone to vote on this autumn.

The 1,150-degree hot planet is about the size of Jupiter.

New government talks

Stabbings in Islands Brygge

THE PM-DESIGNATE, Socialdemokratiet leader Mette Frederiksen, is in no hurry to form a new government. Late last week she sat down with the leaders of all nine parties that won seats. A minority S government is looking the most likely bet.

FIVE YOUNGSTERS aged 17 to 21 were stabbed at Islands Brygge during a fight in the early hours of Monday morning. None of the injuries are life-threatening, and the police have not established any gang connections.

INSIDE OUR NEXT ISSUE, OUT 27 JUNE!

Diplomacy

A CPH POST SPECIAL DIPLOMACY!

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NEWS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

Red light warning: Daycare in disarray

ONLINE THIS WEEK THERE is a small risk that the new artificial ski slope on top of the 90 million kroner Amager incinerator could end up boiling its guests due to the placement of a boiler room, reports Ingeniøren.

Building work is scheduled to be completed by June. Consultancy firm Rambøll estimates the risk is one death every million years for visitors and one death every 100,000 years for site workers.

Love triangle murder A 19-YEAR-OLD man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for murdering a 35-year-old man in the Greater Copenhagen suburb of Vanløse in December 2017. The men were reportedly love rivals. However, a co-defendant, a 57-year-old Greenlandic man, who mistakenly restrained the victim while he was stabbed, was acquitted.

New city district plans

Gesture politics?

THE SWEDISH climate activist Greta Thunberg has ruffled feathers at City Hall with claims that its bid to make the city CO2-neutral by 2025 was “gesture politics”. The city mayor, Frank Jensen, rejected the claims.

B

ARELY a day goes by without new concerns being voiced about the state of daycare.

Protests and impropriety IN APRIL, parents across Denmark took to the streets to protest at the current shortage of daycare educators – numbers have been in freefall since the 1980s.

And in late May a new TV2 documentary was broadcast, which used hidden cameras to expose the neglect that is becoming an all-too frequent occurrence at the nation’s nurseries and kindergartens.

Serious reservations NOW IT is the turn of Copenhagen Municipality to be under the spotlight, as according to a report that TV2 has had access to, there are serious reservations about 5.5 percent of its daycare institutions – or at least 22 out of the 400 institutions investigated.

The findings are the result of the implementation of a monitoring system in 2017 that concentrate on three main areas: ‘Social relations – children/adult contact’, ‘Inclusion and community’, and ‘Language initiatives’.

Fair number in the red THE INSTITUTIONS were graded using a ‘traffic light’ system, where red is critical and means there is a need to implement new initiatives or amend the present ones.

Around 60 percent of Copen-

Top places for sarnies TWO COPENHAGEN sandwich sellers have been included in Big 7 Travel’s list of the top 50 in Europe. The slow-cooked duck baguette at Ma Poule at Torvehallerne earned it a place at number 45, while the smørrebrød served by Aamann’s, a Michelin Guide-recommended restaurant, saw it ranked number 29.

UEFA wants volunteers

Let’s grow more pedagogues!

hagen’s institutions are classed green, 35 percent amber and 5 percent red.

Copenhagen Municipality intends to make the full reports available on its website. (CPH POST)

Copenhagen residents feel safer than before PIXABAY

PLANS for a new 400,000 sqm city district opposite the HC Ørstedsværket power station south of Fisketorvet, which will be called Jernbanebyen (railway town), are coming together. In other news, the PFA trust pension company has bought the Forum event venue.

Secret cameras expose malpractice at Copenhagen nurseries, underling how the staff are overworked and struggling to cope

PXHERE

Smallest risk ever

Editorial offices: International House, Gyldenløvesgade 11, 1600 Copenhagen Denmark

14 - 27 June 2019

Change most notable in vulnerable neighbourhoods

UEFA HAS opened the volunteer application process for Euro 2020. Some 1,300 helpers will be required to help stage four games at Parken. Only one application per host city is possible, and applicants must be proficient in English and Danish, have turned 18 as of 1 May 2020, and be available on all four matchdays.

Airport expansion meeting A MEETING has been arranged in the main library in Tårnby on June 13 at 17:00 to discuss the possible effects of Copenhagen Airport’s expansion plans, reports Minby.dk. Local residents are worried the plans will cause more pollution and noise.

Domed roof to disappear

STEPHEN GADD

LAST WEEK the ground was broken for the construction of a new roof over the skating rink at the old gasworks site in Østerbro.

But some have said they will miss the facility’s distinctive domed roof.

T

HE NUMBER of Copenhagen Municipality residents who feel unsafe has fallen from 12 to 9 percent in a year.

The change has been most marked in Bispebjerg, where the number of unsafe citizens fell from 28 to 17 percent, while outer Nørrebro saw the rate fall from 23 to 17 percent.

General fall in crime rate THE NUMBER of crimes re-

‘Serial killer’ examination

Safer in the funfair they call home

ported to the police per 1,000 inhabitants has fallen from 89.2 in 2013 to 60.1 in 2018.

“I’m happy that Copenhageners are being subjected to

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fewer criminal acts and that they generally feel more secure when they are out in town,” said the city mayor, Frank Jensen.

A COPENHAGEN judge has called for a medical examination of the man currently being held in custody who is suspected of killing three elderly people in Østerbro in February and March.

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14 - 27 June 2019

ONLINE THIS WEEK Backpacker case confession

The Danish Brexiteer FACEBOOK/BREXITCENTRAL

MICHEL GAGNON

Beautiful setting for grisly murder

Brooding about 1992 ever since

A MOROCCAN man has confessed to being involved in the 2018 December murders of Danish backpacker Louisa Jespersen, 24, and her Norwegian friend Maren Ueland, 28. Currently on trial along with three others, he said he regretted their deaths. “I used to love Islamic State, but now I don’t know,” he told the court. Morocco has the death penalty, but has not used it since 1993.

HENRIK Overgaard-Nielsen, a Danish dentist who has lived in northwest England since moving there over 20 years ago, has won a seat in the European Parliament as a candidate for the Brexit Party. Overgaard-Nielsen was the co-chairman of the ‘No’ campaign during the Danish referendum on the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 and sees similarities between that result and Brexit.

High food risk awareness

Infamous count dead at 92

SOME 77 percent of Danes have a very high awareness of food risks such as hygiene, antibiotics and pesticide residue, according to a report from the European Food Safety Authority, which is well above average. Only Sweden (90) and the Netherlands (81) had better awareness. Italy (25) was the worst, followed by Romania (30) and Hungary (33).

CLAUS von Bülow, the famous Danish count, has died at his home in London.

He was 92 years old. Von Bülow shot to notoriety in the early 1980s when his wife slipped into a coma and he was found guilty of attempting to murder her, before being acquitted on appeal – a series of events depicted in the film ‘Reversal of Fortune’. His wife, Sunny, never woke up and died in 2008.

The cost of piracy DENMARK loses around 6.17 billion kroner every year as a result of pirate copying and trademark forgery, according to the European Union Intellectual Property Office. The total cost to the EU is estimated to be around 446 billion kroner per year – 7.4 percent of the total turnover of the EU in the eleven sectors most affected.

Mission to bring back Dane THE DANISH authorities are in discussions with their Kurdish counterparts in Syria to try and get a badly injured boy with Danish citizenship out of a refugee camp and back to Denmark for treatment, reports TV2. The boy was in the town of Baghouz – the last bastion of IS in Syria, before it fell to Kurdish forces in March – when he was shot in the back whilst fleeing the town.

When 47 years counts for little THE MEDIA has been busy highlighting the case of Dennis Speake, a British national married to a Dane who has lived in Denmark for 47 years and recently had his application for Danish citizenship turned down. Although now retired, Speake has worked as a vet here since 1973. However, Speake is confident he can reopen the case and win it with relevant documentation.

Activist’s deportation looming AN ASYLUM-SEEKER with advancing dementia faces deportation back to Afghanistan, even though it is claimed her return is tantamount to a death sentence. Zarmena Waziri, 72, was a women’s rights activist in the country in the 1960s. Even though her condition is documented by a psychologist, the authorities will only accept a doctor’s diagnosis, which her family cannot afford.

Everest without oxygen ON HIS third attempt, 30 year-old Danish mountaineer Rasmus Kragh successfully reached the 8,848m summit of Everest from the south side on May 23 – the first Dane to do so without the use of supplementary oxygen. On two previous occasions, Kragh had to turn back 250 metres from the summit due to bad weather.

Vestager backs poverty fight MARGRETHE Vestager, the Competition Commissioner, is among a group of Danish MEPs who have signed a commitment to fighting extreme poverty. The signatures have been obtained by 250 ONE youth ambassadors, and the signatories have additionally promised to work towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

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4 ELECTION 2019 Danish General Election: The winner takes it all 14 - 27 June 2019

The proof is in the numbers.

Venstre helpless as Socialdemokratiet makes massive dent in Dansk Folkeparti support to score massive victory CHRISTIAN WENANDE & BEN HAMILTON

THE WINNERS: Socialdemokratiet: The country’s most popular party might have only won one extra mandate, but thanks to the support of R, SF and Enhedslisten, the left bloc won more than enough mandates to form the next government with S leader Mette Frederiksen at the helm. Just 41 years old, she will soon become Denmark’s youngest-ever prime minister.

Mette Frederiksen: The S leader got the most personal votes out of anyone in the general election with 43,489, followed

by Rasmussen with 40,745.

Pernille Skipper (E) came third with 33,024, while departing immigration minister Inger Støjberg and Tommy Ahlers (both V) completed the top five with 28,420 and 26,420. Nicolai Wammen (S), Jacob Mark (SF), Kristian Thulesen Dahl (DF), Søren Pape Poulsen (K), Ida Auken (R), Pia Olsen Dyhr (SF), Jakob Ellemann-Jensen (V), Preben Bang Henriksen (V), Karsten Lauritzen (V), Magnus Heunicke (S), Astrid Krag (S), Morten Østergaard (R), Dan Jørgensen (S), Mattias Tesfaye (S), and Ellen Trane Nørby (V) completed the top 20. At the last election in 2015, DF head Kristian Thulesen Dahl got the most votes with 57,371 – a sorry indicator of DF’s massive decline.

Women: On top of Denmark’s getting its second female PM, the election tied a Danish record for the highest percentage of women being elected into Parliament with 39.1 percent (70

W

E KNOW Venstre won’t really want to relive their nightmare now that all the votes are counted and the 2019 Danish General Election is over.

I don’t want to talk about the things we’ve gone through.

Though it’s hurting me, now it’s history.

Out of time

BY THE time the Danish public went to the polls on June 5, PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen had tried every trick in the book: from unlikely vote-winning policies to a last-gasp appeal to his main opponent to form a government across the political divide.

I’ve played all my cards and

out of 179). But despite that, Denmark is still lagging behind compared to its neighbours and remains the only Nordic country to have never had a share of women in Christiansborg that is above 40 percent. SF did its best to improve the ratio this year when it equalled its own 2011 election record with 11 of its 14 mandates going to women. R, Konservative, and Nye Borgerlige also had a 50 percent or better share of women. In contrast, none of Liberal Alliance’s four mandates will go to a woman, while Alternativet only has one out of its five. In 1998, Denmark was second in the world with a 37.4 percent share of women in Parliament, but the Danes are now ranked 25th as other countries have caught up.

The handicapped: Kristian Hegaard from R has become the first handicapped person in Danish history to become an MP. The 28-year-old wheelchair-bound law student, who has been a Fredensborg city council member since 2010, received 1,945 votes. The national handicapped association, Dansk Handicapforbund, said Hegaard’s achievement was massive for all people with handicaps. Hegaard suffers from a congenital bone disease.

Integration: Despite voter participation dropping slightly from a national standpoint, the vulnerable districts in Denmark – the so-called ghettos – saw a significant spike in voter numbers. Ghetto areas that saw a marked increase in voter numbers compared to 2015 included Vollsmose in Odense, Tingbjerg in Copenhagen and Gellerupparken in Aarhus. In 2015, 20 percent fewer immigrants voted compared to ethnic Danes, but experts contend that many turned out this year in the face of fierce right-wing rhetoric from parties like Stram Kurs. Slogans such as ‘Yalla! Stem eller bliv stemt hjem’ (’Yalla, vote or be sent home’) have helped motivate the immigrants to turn out in much higher numbers. Radikale garnered the most votes in the three ghettos mentioned above.

Konservative: After a number of lean elections that scarcely merited their right to co-govern, the Danish Tories are back with six extra mandates. Søren Pape Poulsen, the outgoing justice minister, lapped up the applause in front of a crowd at Dansk Erhverv who looked like they have really started to believe again.

Maybe this is only the beginning.

SF: With seven extra mandates, SF has banished the poor performance of 2015 into the annals of history, and party leader Pia Olsen Dyhr – a newbie who looked out of place four years ago – can rightly be proud of her party’s performance, as it took its total number of seats from seven to 14. Should S choose to form a government with just one party, it will be SF. The likelihood of both SF and R playing a part is slim.

Radikale: After a poor show in 2015, party leader Morten Østergaard has instilled belief into the party’s ranks with a great election in which the party increased its number of mandates from eight to 16. The next four years will most likely see R become the

that’s what you’ve done too. Nothing more to say. No more ace to play.

Outfoxed IN THE end he was outfoxed by a party that gambled on taking its immigration policy to the right. The votes Socialdemokratiet then lost to fellow red bloc parties Radikale and Socialistisk

Folkeparti were more than made up for by the support it gathered from disillusioned Dansk Folkeparti supporters.

The winner takes it all. The loser standing small. Beside the victory, that’s her destiny.

So without further ado, here are the winners and losers of the 2019 Danish General Election.

THE FINAL RESULT: Left bloc: Socialdemokratiet (S) Radikale (R) Socialistisk Folkeparti (SF) Enhedslisten (E) TOTAL:

25.9 percent – 48 seats 8.6 percent – 16 seats 7.7 percent – 14 seats 6.9 percent – 13 seats 49.1 percent – 91 seats

Right bloc: Venstre (V) Dansk Folkeparti (DF) Konservative (K) Nye Borgerlige (NB) Liberal Alliance (LA) TOTAL:

23.4 percent – 43 seats 8.7 percent – 16 seats 6.6 percent – 12 seats 2.4 percent – 4 seats 2.3 percent – 4 seats 43.4 percent – 79 seats

On the sidelines: Alternativet (A) 3.0 percent – 5 seats Kristendemokraterne (KD) 1.7 percent – 0 seats Stram Kurs (SK) 1.8 percent – 0 seats Klaus Riskær Pedersen (KRP) 0.8 percent – 0 seats Independents 0.1 percent – 0 seats TOTAL: 7.4 percent – 5 seats *Greenland and the Faroes Islands get two seats each true flag-bearer of the left, as S becomes increasingly centrist. Unlikely, therefore, to play a part in the government, it will be expected to support S – and on issues such as immigration be in place, alongside E, to soften S’s stance.

Enhedslisten: At Vega on election night Pernille Skipper thanked a mostly 20-something crowd for making this a memorable election for the ultra left-wing party in the capital, where it very nearly won the biggest share of the vote with a 16.4 percent share thanks to barnstorming performances in Vesterbro and Nørrebro. However, across the rest of the country its performance was so-so, and it ended up seeing its mandate share slide from 14 to 13.

Nye Borgerlige: The new rightwing party started with nothing and thanks to an impressive election in which it won 2.4 percent of the public vote, it now has four mandates, Its leader Pernille Vermund is particularly happy, as she competed valiantly against DF chair Kristian Thulesen Dahl in South Jutland, where DF’s share of the vote was more than halved from 28.4 to 12.5 percent. Mette Thiesen, Lars Boje Mathiesen and Peter Seier Christensen (the brother of Saxo Bank’s Lars) look most likely to fill the other mandates.

Kristendemokraterne: Nobody gave Kristendemokraterne a chance a few months ago, but the promotion of 26-year-old Isabella Arendt to the position of leader last month put fresh wind

ELECTION

14 - 27 June 2019

THE LOSERS: Venstre: After a good performance in the European elections ten days earlier, V was tipped to do well, but nobody was expecting its leader, PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen, to hang on to power (a miracle was needed) or for the leading blue party (overtaking DF this election) to be part of the next government. V won nine extra mandates this election to take its total to 43 – just five shy of S – but in truth the damage was done a long time ago thanks to sloppy environmental policy (electric car subsidies, anyone?), downright nasty immigration rules (the cake!) and a more cunning opponent.

An eleventh-hour appeal to its main political rival to reach across the divide and form a government hardly did the other blue bloc parties any favours either.

FACEBOOK/DANSK FOLKEPARTI

in their sails, and in the end the party came up only marginally short. Not only did they increase their 0.8 percent share of the votes in 2015 to 1.7 percent, but they were just 191 votes short of winning representation in west Jutland – a full explanation of exactly how would require an entire article! With Arendt at the helm, it won’t be long until they return to Parliament for the first time since 2001.

went to the three parties. The largest share of the wasted votes were cast in west Jutland, where 5.4 percent of voters ticked for one of the three losing parties.

Prominent figures: From one day to the next, Anders Samuelsen went from Denmark’s foreign minister to resigning as head of LA following an abysmal election showing. Young party star Alex Vanopslagh has become the next party head. Meanwhile, a disastrous election from DF means that one of their key figures, the spokesperson for immigration issues, Martin Henriksen, has not managed to gain enough votes for Parliament. DF chair Peter Skaarup took the only mandate the party gained in Copenhagen, leaving Henriksen as the odd man out.

DF lost 21 of its 37 mandates in one of the most epic collapses in Danish election history.

Young candidates: According to an analysis of the 900 candidates running in the 2019 Danish General Election, only 40 are women under the age of 30 – the least represented decade/gender group of a working age. In contrast, 160 of the candidates are men in their 40s. The youngest candidate, 18-year-old Laura Emilie Hollander Jensen, an A candidate in west Jutland, told DR that people think it’s “cool” and “wild” that she is standing for election. “Many are surprised that it is possible at all to become a candidate as an 18-year-old,” she added. “Many wonder if you can do it at all.”

Did their toxicity put off voters?

2015, but not this badly. It lost 21 mandates to leave it with just 16 – of which only one is in Copenhagen. The emergence of NB and SK took the wind out of its hard right-wing credentials, but in truth the damage was done a long time ago when DF failed to make any real impact despite being the biggest blue bloc party in 2015, and then S ramped up its immigration policy.

Liberal Alliance: The libertarian party lost over two-thirds of its mandates, as its allocation fell from 13 to four seats. The party lost both its mandates in the Nordsjællands Storkreds constituency, which means its leader Anders Samuelsen will no longer be an MP. Likewise Joachim B Olsen, who memorably took an ad out on Pornhub, has also seen his load lightened.

bæk will hold onto his seat, but group chair Carolina Magdalene Maier will not.

Stram Kurs: Heading into the election, the new far right party was grabbing all the headlines and seemingly on course to get more than 2 percent of the public vote – the minimum required to get a mandate – but in the end it came up short, winning 1.8 percent. For its leader Rasmus Paludan, who only assembled his candidates in May, the election simply came too soon. But maybe he shouldn’t have made the naked artist guy one of his most prominent candidates.

Dansk Folkeparti: DF was expected to do badly after a great

Alternativet: Despite its strong climate focus, the liberal party was never expected to match its performance in 2015 when it ran as the new boys with a keen focus on green concerns and culture. It has lost four of its nine mandates. A slide in popularity in the capital has seen the party lose one of its two mandates, meaning party leader Uffe El-

Mama Pia: DF co-founder and Parliament speaker Pia Kjærsgaard struggled mightily in this election compared to four years ago. Kjærsgaard secured just 9,953 votes this time – a far cry from 2015 when she attracted the sixth most votes out of anyone with 26,583. Despite the setback, she still finished third in the Outer Copenhagen major district. And she will be joined in Parliament by Morten Messerschmidt, who secured a mandate in north Zealand and will make a return to Christiansborg following several years in the European Parliament.

Focus on housing

PM nearly killed

Fit to sit?

“Pissing off the police”

IN THE final week of the election, S unveiled ‘Cities with room for everyone’, a policy to make urban living affordable for families on average incomes – particularly municipal workers such as teachers and social workers, who are increasingly finding they can’t afford to live where they work, and also students unable to live close to their place of study.

DENMARK could have got a new PM two days earlier than anticipated on June 4, as Lars Løkke Rasmussen was nearly hit by a tile that fell 13 metres off a roof at the National Museum where he was being interviewed by TV2. The irony, of course, was that the museum could blame the state of its roof on the cuts that Rasmussen’s government forced it to make in 2016.

DR VIEWERS were left surprised when E leader Pernille Skipper was unable to name Denmark’s largest export market. In a quiz on the DR1 program ‘Aftenshowet’, she claimed that the UK is Denmark’s largest market. In truth, Denmark exports around 15 billion kroner’s worth of goods to Germany every year – nearly three times the amount to the Brits.

K LEADER Søren Pape Poulsen used the final party leader TV debate as an opportunity to come clean with his SK counterpart Rasmus Paludan: namely that the police might protect him, but they don’t like him.

“You are pissing off the police, and you should thank them for all that they do for you,” Poulsen told the Koran-burning lawyer.

Wasted votes: Despite getting 153,923 votes between them, KD, Klaus Riskær Pedersen and SK failed to get into Parliament on Wednesday night.

That means that the election had the fourth highest number of ‘wasted’ votes since 1953 and the most since 1990 (167,644).

In total, 4.3 percent of the votes

ONLINE THIS WEEK

5

Gucci keeps schtum SPEAKING to Radio24syv, former PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt said she was tempted to break her ‘vow of silence’ and express strong opinions in the build-up to the election.

“I probably could do something that would create some controversy,” she said from her home in London. However, she conceded it was “mega-annoying” when S old-timers did the same to her.

Paludan at it again IN A LAST-GASP bid for publicity, SK leader Rasmus Paludan returned to Nørrebro on June 4 – the scene of the riots he provoked in April by tossing a Koran around, which led to him quickly becoming a household name. This time, though, he made a quick exit after a few locals voiced their disapproval.

Climate change concerns HEADING into the election, a majority of Danes did not think politicians are doing enough to tackle climate change. Some 57 percent, according to the Epinion poll for DR, totally or partly agreed that politicians do not do enough to reduce Denmark’s CO2 emissions. Only 17 percent totally or partly disagreed.

Pia socks it to DR PARLIAMENT speaker Pia Kjærsgaard won tweet of the night during the final party leader TV debate with the observation “Miserable audience carefully selected by DR”. DR was quick to dismiss the former DF leader’s claims that the broadcaster ensures there is “applause and teary eyes every time the treatment of refugees is spoken about”, insisting the registration process is open to all.

Power for power’s sake IN THE final week of the election, DF leader Kristian Thulesen Dahl launched an attack on S leader Mette Frederiksen, contending that she was cynically “going after the prime minister’s post at all costs”.

6

NEWS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK THE UK government has signed a trade continuity agreement with the Faroe Islands, which will safeguard its importation of 200 million pounds’ worth of fish and crustaceans every year.

So maybe Brexit Britain won’t run out of fish ‘n’ chips after all!

Held over fire deaths A 19-YEAR-OLD German man was arrested on May 29 following a house fire that killed two people in Blåvand near Esbjerg.

An autopsy confirmed that one of the victims, a 61-year-old man, had died before the fire. The other victim was an 85-year-old woman.

Sentence doubled THE VESTRE Landsret high court has revised the sentence of a 42-year-old man who killed a 49-year-old man in Frederikshavn in 2017 from manslaughter to murder, increasing his punishment from six to 13 years. He and a co-defendant, a 59-year-old sentenced to life at the original trial, blamed one another for the murder.

High-speed by name only THE 10-BILLION kroner highspeed stretch of railway from Ringsted to Copenhagen has opened. However, because the signalling system is antiquated, trains will only be able to run at 120 km per hour – rather than 250 km/h – and just once an hour, instead of four times. From July, the speed can be increased to 180 km/h.

Quicker to your final destination PIXABAY

Fish ‘n’ chip saviours

14 - 27 June 2019

Electric bikes have decreased our journey time … and our life expectancies STEPHEN GADD

T

HE NUMBER of electric bikes has increased dramatically over the last few years – as has the number of deaths amongst those riding them. In 2018, they accounted for six of the 28 cyclist fatalities, according to Vejdirektoraet.

The number represents a steep rise on the two or three killed every year since 2012, during which time there have been 21 total deaths.

Pedal to the metal ONE OF the contributing factors could be that by using a kit costing around 800 kroner and some simple tools, it is possible to tune an electric bike to go up to 60 km per hour, reports Politiken.

The kits are fully legal, but now the Havarikommissionen accident prevention body has suggested they ought to be banned. Unfortunately, though, they are easy to find online or abroad.

The current limit on the assisted speed is 25 km/h. However, an exception has been for pedelecs, which can go up to 45 km/h and are currently on trial.

Fatality on Funen A 62-YEAR-OLD man was

Doggy depot for shoppers A SWEDISH contraption, Den4Dogs, which allows shoppers to ‘park’ their dogs in lockable kennels, has started popping up outside supermarkets. According to the Irma in Islands Brygge, many customers asked for it. As well as ensuring the dogs aren’t stolen, the den keeps them warm in the winter.

Multiple demo arrests

Are the bikes and scooters becoming a bit of an eyesore?

killed on June 7 in a collision between his electric bicycle and a lorry at a roundabout near Årslev in Funen, in which the cyclist appeared to be going at around 30-40 km per hour.

The majority of the cyclists killed and injured are more than 44 years old, and around twothirds of them are women.

Good year in general OVERALL, 2018 was a good year for road-users, according to Vejdirektoratet, as there were only 171 fatalities – the lowest figure since 2012. The biggest drop could be seen among people aged 18-24.

Nevertheless, 1,862 people were seriously injured in traffic accidents – the highest number since 2013. And 793 were cyclists.

Concerns over scooters IN OTHER transport news, Copenhagen’s deputy mayor for technical issues, Karina Vestergård Madsen, has suggested there are too many electric scooters on the capital’s streets.

Since becoming legal in January, they’ve started to take over the bicycle lanes, and Madsen told TV2 that “it’s our estimation that if we want to avoid accidents, the limit on electric scooters in the city centre should be 200”.

Shared bike limits?

A SIMILAR limit for shared bicycles is also being discussed in the capital, and it has been suggested that an overall limit of 3,000 for bikes and scooters could be set.

Should the limits be set, rental companies will have to apply for permits to put out scooters and bicycles.

A PROTEST against climate change resulted in 22 people getting arrested in Aarhus on June 3. A group of about 25-30 people from Extinction Rebellion, which describes its fight as a “non-violent rebellion”, blocked roads to and from Aarhus Oil Harbour to protest against the increased use of fossil fuels.

Britta charged with fraud BRITTA Nielsen, the prime suspect in one of Denmark’s biggest ever embezzlement cases, has had fraud added to her charge sheet.

The former employee of the Socialstyrelsen social authority is thought to have transferred 117 million kroner to herself over a period of 25 years from municipal funds.

No date has been set for the trial.

Speaker steps down AFTER four years in the job, Pia Kjærsgaard has stood down as speaker of Parliament – jumping ship before she was pushed out by the incoming government, which traditionally gifts the position to a favoured party. “The balance of power has shifted,” the DF MP wrote on Facebook. “Now I can really cut loose [again].”

COVER

14 - 27 June 2019

7

Politicians to raise cigarette prices – but will it be enough to deter young people?

Cancer society confident teenagers will quit the habit if the cost increases by 50 percent, even if growing numbers think it’s cool to light up – not least because of a popular Norwegian television program DANIELLE DRAKE-FLAM

E

XPATS settling in Denmark are often baffled when they discover how much a packet of cigarettes costs.

At just 40-45 kroner, it is considerably cheaper than a pint of beer in most city bars and less than half the price found in countries such as Norway, the UK and Ireland.

The politicians have been slow to address the disparity, citing concerns about making it more expensive for ordinary working folk, arguing that even more would buy their tobacco abroad in countries like Germany.

But during campaigning for the 2019 General Election, the price of cigarettes became a serious issue – particularly because recent figures have shown that the number of smokers is increasing, completely bucking the downward trend seen in all the other Nordic countries, and more young people are taking up the habit.

At the final televised election debate on June 3, every single party leader agreed the prices should rise. While Dansk Folkeparti cautioned a 10 percent rise – most probably with their pensioner supporters in mind – Radikale went as far as saying they should be doubled.

Nevertheless, Socialdemokratiet leader Mette Frederiksen, the PM elect, refused to say how much they should rise by.

Progress then complacency THE POLITICAL interest is good news for those who want to see the price increased and have previously been surprised by the lack of interest in Christiansborg.

“We don’t have an exact explanation for the lack of interest,” noted Niels Them Kjær, the project manager at the Kræftens Bekæmpelse cancer society.

“One explanation is that from 2000 to 2007 there was a lot of political focus on smoking habits in Denmark. Then the focus changed and the development stopped. For around two years there was stabilisation, and now we are seeing a small increase in the prevalence of smokers, so it’s natural, actually.”

Overall, Kjær contends that the politicians have been far too wary of more people going abroad to buy their tobacco products.

“There has always been a huge discussion around cross-border trade – the politicians

are scared that more Danes will go to Germany if they increase the price,” he said.

Cost a key factor ADA FROM Copenhagen has been smoking since she was ten years old.

Now 17, she is addicted to cigarettes and says that about 75 percent of her teenage friends smoke as well. She originally began to smoke out of curiosity as both her parents are regular smokers.

“My parents smoke and I was curious about it and then I started smoking,” Ada said. “I think I would have started later [if my parents didn’t smoke].”

Ada’s friend, 17-year-old Kieran, believes he would be less likely to spend his money on cigarettes if the prices were to go up, claiming that he would probably spend his money elsewhere.

“Oh, it would affect me,” Kieran said. “I would be able to afford it, but I wouldn’t buy them anymore.”

Kjær concurs that fewer youngsters would smoke.

“If we could have an increase of, for instance 50 percent, then we’ll see a huge decrease – especially among young people who smoke,” he said.

“For middle-aged people who have smoked for 25 years – they don’t easily change their habits because of the addiction. But teenagers – they very easily change habits because they’re not addicted to nicotine yet, so they will spend their money on something else, I hope.”

Effective pricing IN CONTRAST, in most western countries the number of smokers is falling, and it is no coincidence to note that many of them have much higher cigarette prices.

Currently the price of a pack of 20 is about 5.90 euros (43 kroner) in Denmark – significantly cheaper that the likes of the United States (6.00 euros), UK (10.59 euros), Norway (11.40 euros) and Ireland (12.70 euros).

In Norway, according to Kjær, the problem of young people has been “more or less solved” by the increase.

Only 3 percent of Norwegians aged 16-25 smoke, compared to 16 percent in Denmark, he contends.

“We have five times more young adult smokers in Denmark compared to Norway,” he said.

“So if we do it like Norway, we can stop it.”

Smoking to be cool CONVERSELY, though, Norway could also

be partly to blame for the recent increase in the number of teenage smokers in Denmark.

CPH POST spoke to a group of young teens in the city district of Vesterbro, and they cited the immense popularity of a Norwegian TV show as a reason for why many of their peers are smoking.

“I think people think it’s cool because they see it on TV shows like ‘Skam’,” said Clara, 14, who does not think there is a single person in her class who does not watch the web series, which made its debut in September 2015.

An infinitely higher proportion of characters smoke in the show than the 3 percent of Norwegian teens cited by Kjær.

“It’s even shown to us in class as part of our education,” added Karla, 15.

As a Norwegian show about school children facing similar challenges to those faced by Danes, ‘Skam’ really resonates with the teens. “‘Skam’ is more realistic than similar American shows in which things happen that couldn’t possibly happen in real life,” continued Karla.

“In ‘Skam’ the characters face real-life problems we can all relate to.”

SMOKING IN DENMARK: In 2018, the number of Danes over the age of 16 who smoke rose to 23.1 percent (up from 21.1 percent in 2016) – the first rise in two decades Only 12 to 13 percent do so on a daily basis – the rest are party smokers Earlier this year Vidensråd for Forebyggelse recommended increasing the price of a packet of cigarettes to 80 and 90 kroner Some 59 percent of Danes would like to raise the price to the same level as in Norway where a pack costs 90 kroner, according to an Epinion poll for DR The highest numbers of smokers are still found in the 55 to 64-year-old age bracket Around 5,000 people die of cancer every year in Denmark because they have smoked

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SCIENCE

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ONLINE THIS WEEK

14 - 27 June 2019

Toxic caterpillar concerns

Green cars: behind schedule, lacking power PIXABAY

Cruise ship pollution woes A EUROPEAN Federation for Transport and Environment report ranks Copenhagen as the tenth worst city for pollution caused by cruise ships – making it the worst in the Nordics. Helsinki came 22nd, followed by Stockholm (24), Reykjavik (29) and Oslo (44).

Experts want more land power stations so that the ships don’t need to have their engines on to obtain power when docked in the port.

A call for disobedience

Dangers of concussion UNIVERSITY of Copenhagen researchers have discovered that if you get concussed, the effects can easily stay with you for at least five years. These can be anything from pain to difficulties concentrating, and it can also impact your work life. The research followed 19,732 Danes aged 18-60 who had been diagnosed with concussion.

Zoo’s green future COPENHAGEN Zoo aims to annually save 6 million litres of water, emit 170 fewer tonnes of CO2 and cut 20 percent of its total power consumption. The zoo has gone into partnership with PKA’s energy fund SustainSolutions as part of a revamping of its buildings and outdoor areas, which will be completed by the end of June.

Plastic deposit cup proposal FROM NEXT year, big event organisers in Copenhagen will not be allowed to serve beverages in disposable plastic cups, according to a new policy being proposed

by Karina Vestergård Madsen, the acting deputy mayor for technical and environmental issues. Instead, the drinks must be served in deposit containers that can be washed and reused an average of 24 times.

Cleaner water trial A NEW METHOD to keep our drinking water free of pesticides, membrane technology, is being tried out in the municipalities of Odsherred and Kalundborg.

The currently preferred method, activated carbon, is unable to filter out all types of pesticides.

THE OAK processionary moth is steadily moving northwards to Denmark, bringing with it its toxic caterpillar. Recent sightings in Germany include several in Rostock. Commonly found in oak forests, each caterpillar has 62,000 poisonous hairs, which can cause skin irritation, asthma and even death. The public are advised to not touch them and be wary of inhaling wind-borne hairs.

A charger for every parking space almost

Just 0.59 percent of private vehicles in Denmark are currently electric or hybrid

P

M LARS Løkke Rasmussen last year promised that as part of the government’s green package there would be over a million electric or hybrid cars on Denmark’s roads by 2030.

However, there is an awful long way to go if this ambition is to be realised. The latest Danmarks Statistik figures reveal that as of January 2019 there were only 15,205 vehicles in this category on the roads – 0.59 percent of the 2.6 million or so private cars in Denmark.

gish sales could well be due to conflicting political signals regarding car prices, subsidies (or not) and especially issues regarding registration tax.

It is suggested the way forward would be dropping the current registration tax and imposing a mileage tax. This would decrease the further you drive, so you would be taxed on driving the car rather than buying it.

rent electricity network.

Lars Aagaard, the CEO of Dansk Energi, contends that the electricity grid can be a show-stopper for the green transition if politicians do not fall in line behind the necessary big investments.

Political clarity needed ON THE bright side, sales have been going in the right direction for the first five months of this year, as 3,476 electric or plug-in hybrid cars were sold, reports DR. Experts point out that slug-

More charging stations THE ENERGY advocacy organisation Dansk Energi believes the target of 1 million cars requires 250 new charging stations to be erected in Denmark each day between now and 2030.

In total, 860,000 charging stations must be erected to sustain the vehicles.

It could cost as much as 19 billion kroner to make the Danish electricity grid compatible with such large-scale consumption on top of a 29 billion kroner investment to maintain the cur-

In search of funding HOWEVER, although there is broad inter-party agreement, nobody has yet worked out where the money is going to come from.

The DE report proposes two solutions. One is to expand and upgrade the network so that it can handle any extra strain. That would cost around 48 billion kroner.

The alternative would be to think smartly and engineer it so that energy consumption is automated and spread across a 24-hour period. This solution would only cost around 3 billion kroner, but with potential problems. (CPH POST)

‘Tipping point’ centre

Mapping our sea plastic

HIV gene’s pros and cons

THE UNIVERSITY of Copenhagen intends to open a research centre to investigate the so-called ‘tipping points’ – the points of no return when it comes to climate.

The TiPES Centre will be led by Peter Ditlevsen of the Niels Bohr Institute in collaboration with a number of international researchers from the UK, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Norway and France.

PROJECT Plastic Smart, a project supported by the World Wildlife Fund and Salling Group that involved 40 families collecting rubbish at ten Danish beaches in May, gathered 150 kilos, including a large volume of small pieces and microplastics. Picnic leftovers dominated near towns and fishing gear elsewhere. On the west coast the rubbish came from as far as Spain and the US.

NEW RESEARCH involving the University of Copenhagen reveals that a gene that protects people from HIV could also mark them for premature death. People with the gene apparently have a 21 percent higher chance of dying before the age of 76. In other KU research news, DNA sequencing confirms that the Yana people (aka Ancient North Siberians) are the ancestors of Native Americans.

SOME 174 Danish scientists have called for a nonviolent rebellion to raise awareness of the climate crisis in an open letter published in Politiken. The researchers do not specify the actions of the civil disobedience, but Christian Addington of the Danish branch of the British ‘Extinction Rebellion’ movement points to strikes and blocking traffic as possible actions.

Fertilisers fuel algae threat THE USE of excess nitrogen, phosphates and potassium by farmers fell between the end of the 1990s and the mid-2000s, but a new bill in 2015 permitted them to use more than is recommended by the EU. Now an Aarhus University study claims the excess fertilisers are polluting lakes, rivers and streams, causing an explosion of algae.

More flu vaccinations TAKING a lesson perhaps from the bitter experience of the previous year’s serious flu epidemic, a record 846,000 people were vaccinated during the 2018-2019 season – a record 15 percent of the population. Over 90 percent were people in high-risk groups, such as the over-65s, chronically ill, disabled and pregnant.

Cheaper solar solution MOST SOLAR energy panels use a system of mirrors. However, a newly-developed plastic foil by the Danish company Heliac on the island of Møn could change all that, reports Ingeniøren. The foil is half the price it costs to produce the mirrors and more effective at catching the Sun’s rays – 84 percent compared to 79 percent.

CULTURE/SPORT

14 - 27 June 2019

ONLINE THIS WEEK

Finally part of the Ultimate family

Woz runs out of steam

Hallowed be their name

Could it soon be farewell for good?

IRON MAIDEN are suing Danish gaming developer 3D Realms for copyright infringement in relation to its production of Ion Maiden, a first-person shooter game, which it launched in 2018. Besides the obvious parallels between the names, 3D Realms is accused of using a logo similar to the band’s mascot and featuring a character, ‘Shelly Harrison’, who is reminiscent of founder Steve Harris.

CAROLINE Wozniacki was knocked out in the first round of the French Open. Despite taking the first set 6-0, she ran out of steam as her Russian opponent Veronika Kudermetova took the next two sets by the score of 6-3. In other tennis news, Clara Tauson has signed a sponsorship deal with Seier Capital, the investment company that belongs to Saxo Bank founder Lars Seier Christensen.

Tigger’s having a laugh

Georgians beaten, but not the Irish

FANØ KUNSTMUSEUM has secured the rights to exhibit some of the EH Shepard hand-coloured drawings that featured in AA Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh novels when they were first published in the 1920s. Helen Roberts, the curator of the EH Shepard archive at Surrey University, told Politiken she was impressed by the museum’s enthusiasm. The exhibition will run from June 29 to September 1.

DENMARK’S road to Euro 2020 hit a slight snag on July 7 when a late goal let Ireland salvage a 1-1 draw at Parken Stadium.

The Danes followed up that disappointement with a 5-1 demolition of Georgia at the same venue on Monday, leaving Åge Hareide’s boys with five points from three games.

LÆSØ KUNSTHAL refused to remove the works of two controversial artists from its exhibition ‘The Political Art’, which opened last week on the Kattegat island. Ultimatums were received from other participating artists that works by the racist Swedish artist Dan Park and performance artist Uwe Max Jensen, a Stram Kurs candidate, should be removed.

Superliga: ups and downs LYNGBY and Silkeborg have been promoted to the Superliga, but Viborg FF failed to join them via a playoff. In other Superliga news, attendances rose 11.9 percent last season, Brøndby has qualified for the Europa League along with FCM and Esbjerg, and Brøndby has confirmed that its new coach is national under-21s coach Niels Frederiksen.

Tragedy in time trial THE DANISH cycling race Tour de Himmelfart was hit by tragedy on May 31 when young rider Andreas Byskov Sarbo was hit by a car and died. The 18-year-old was hit during the third stage, a time trial, when a 27-year-old woman somehow managed to manoeuvre her car past the race barricades and into the path of the riders.

Return of a titan MIDTFYNS Festival, which until 15 years ago used to attract some of the biggest names in music, has been revived. David Bowie, Johnny Cash and Alice Cooper are among those who have performed in the windswept field on Ringe in Funen. In 1989 the festival had close to 65,000 paying guests and was even bigger than Roskilde. But it was cancelled in 2004 due to a lack of interest.

Huge buzz about Mads A TRAILER for ‘Death Stranding’, a new PlayStation 4 game starring Mads Mikkelsen and Nicolas Winding Refn, was watched 5 million times in its first 24 hours on release. In other video game news, the team behind ‘Subway Surfers’, the Apple App Store’s second most popular game ever with 2.5 billion downloads, have earned an estimated 500 million kroner.

Jussi pair make way AFTER four films together, the two main stars of the ‘Department Q’ crime film series – Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Fares Fares – will be replaced for the next instalment by Ulrich Thomsen and Zaki Youssef. Martin Zandvliet (‘Under Sandet’) will direct. Author Jussi Adler-Olsen has just completed ‘Offer 2117’, his eighth book in the series, which goes on sale on June 14.

FACEBOOK/MARK O MADSEN

FACEBOOK/ CAROLINE WOZNIACKI

EL_SILVER/FLICKR

Couldn’t Bruce challenge them to a duel?

Gallery stands firm

9

Choking, pummeling, kneeing, elbowing: these guys enjoy their work

World’s most prominent Mixed Martial Arts league to make its Danish debut

ticketmaster.dk. Denmark will become the 28th country to host a UFC event.

CHRISTIAN WENANDE

Following Sweden “WE HAVE been looking to bring a live event to Denmark for some time now, and we are thrilled to have the Octagon touch down in Copenhagen this year,” said UFC senior vice president, David Shaw.

“We have seen our passionate Scandinavian fans deliver an amazing atmosphere in Sweden, and we know it will be no different come September in Copenhagen.”

M

MA (MIXED Martial Arts) fans in Denmark are jubilant as news has emerged that the world’s most prominent MMA league, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), is finally set to make its Danish debut.

The event will take place at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen on September 28, with tickets going on sale on June 21 via

10 BUSINESS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK

SAS strike costly THE SAS strike, which impacted 4,000 flights and over 350,000 passengers in late April and early May, ended up costing the airline 453 million kroner. SAS has accordingly posted an interim loss of 977 million kroner for its 201819 financial year. Meanwhile, SAS has been named the fourth best airline in the world by passenger rights organisation Airhelp. Qatar Airlines was the best.

Steady year for shippers IN 2018, DANISH shipping companies exported to the tune of 188 billion kroner. However, their largest market, China, fell in value by 1 billion kroner.

North America, in contrast, grew by 16 percent, and Europe also increased. Nevertheless, trade disputes – most notably between the US and China – pose a considerable threat to the industry in 2019.

Decade’s worth of debt SOME 1,200 homeowners collectively owe 100 million kroner after being mistakenly exempted from paying property value tax for a decade. An additional 950 properties owe a tax payable to the municipality. MPs will decide whether a discount will be given – possibly of 70 percent. DR spoke to a man who repeatedly contacted SKAT for help, but was told there was nothing they could do.

Inroads in China urged EXPERTS warn that Danish businesses need to take heed of ‘Made in China 2025’, reports DI Business. Hailed as a new industrial revolution in sectors such as robotics, green energy and medical equipment, Danish companies risk being left behind if they don’t make inroads in the country. Soon Chinese companies will be able to undercut competitors by around 30 percent.

Vestas deal in Russia VESTAS has cemented its position as the leading wind power company in Russia with a partnership with Rusnano, a local company.

14 - 27 June 2019

Private sector under pressure from pols Employer associations warn of extra costs following change of government, while new survey suggests new companies are struggling to survive BEN HAMILTON

S

HORTLY before the 2019 General Election, the results of two studies painted a conflicting picture of Denmark that raises questions about its future prosperity.

While one revealed the country is economically healthy with a good employment rate and high salaries, the other suggested it is no cakewalk in the private sector, where the odds of a new company surviving its first five years are only one in three.

Indeed, a number of employer associations are concerned about what a change of government will mean for their members’ futures.

Red bloc governments tend to be pro public sector, often heavily taxing the private sector to fund their spending. Already Socialdemokratiet has indicated it will be spending more on welfare.

“It is the business community that must finance the many election promises,” Tekniq Arbejdsgiverne chief executive Niels Jørgen Hansen told DR.

The business pages are not as buoyed as the cultural elite

solutions provider Paymentsense.

While it ranked fifth for average annual pay – 51,466 dollars (345,000 kroner) – and sixth for its high employment rate (calculated to be 75.32 percent), it had a low five-year survival rate for businesses of just 34.72 percent.

In fact, every single one of the 21 countries that finished above Denmark had a higher survival rate.

The US topped the rankings, followed by Belgium and Ireland.

Completing the top ten were Canada, France, Slovenia, Sweden, Austria, Germany and Latvia.

vanced 13 places to 26th.

Established in 1989, the ranking takes into account 235 different economic indicators.

Bad for new businesses DESPITE it being relatively easy to set up a company compared to most other countries, Denmark is only the 22nd best country in the world to begin a business, according to a study by card payment

Eighth most competitive MEANWHILE, Denmark has slipped two places in the latest IMD World Competitiveness Ranking to number eight.

Singapore topped the ranking, ahead of Hong Kong and the US, which was judged to have the world’s most competitive economy in 2018. Switzerland, the UAE, the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden and Qatar completed the top ten.

Among the top 30, the biggest fallers were Norway, Israel and the UK, which all slipped three places. The biggest riser was Saudi Arabia, which ad-

DI’s stark warning MEANWHILE, in related news a Dansk Industri analysis warns the new government it must save funds to ensure Denmark isn’t crippled by the next recession, which will inevitably arrive “sooner or later”.

While reforms and growth initiatives introduced after the 2008 Financial Crisis have helped the country’s economy, it does not currently have the necessary funds needed to stimulate the economy in the event of a recession.

“I urge politicians to consider how to increase fiscal leeway now,” said DI chief executive Kent Damsgaard.

“The room for manoeuvre in the case of a new crisis or even just a regular recession is extremely narrow. This is regrettable in a situation in which we’ve had economic tailwind for the past many years.”

Relying on a lowering of interest rates will not be enough, added Damsgaard, as they are “rock bottom six years into a European upswing”.

Grounds for a company

Airport tackling CO2

Juice chain on course

DANISH-BASED startup Kaffe Bueno, which was recently included on the Top 500 DeepTech Startup list published by Hello Tomorrow, uses an extractable oil from coffee grounds sourced from hotels and offices to manufacture all sorts of products, including anti-ageing, wound-healing, moisturising and UV ray protection treatments, as well as a nutritious flour.

THE NUMBER of passengers passing through Copenhagen Airport continues to rise – the first quarter of 2019 saw a 1.2 percent increase – but Kastrup remains confident its new climate strategy can negate its carbon footprint. It has set a goal of emission-free transport to and from the airport by 2030 and reiterated that 2019 is on course to be a CO2-neutral year.

JOE & THE Juice has revealed a “satisfactory” 2018 loss of 113 million – four times the 27.3 million it lost in 2017. Recent expansion, which saw 62 new outlets open worldwide last year to take its total number to 272 (with another 17 franchised out), has seen revenue jump by 25 percent to 1.02 billion kroner. In 2019, the chain expects to open between 30 and 40 new outlets.

Bonus ceiling favoured SOCIALDEMOKRATIET wants to place a ceiling on bonuses in light of the share scheme at NemID operator Nets that has enabled many of its top executives to make hundreds of millions. Bo Nilsson, the CEO, could earn 1.9 billion kroner from an investment of 200 million, having made 600 million kroner off 30 million in 2018. Venstre had previously warned against a ceiling.

Tiger suffers big loss FLYING Tiger Copenhagen has confirmed a 2018 loss of 541 million kroner – its first loss since 2006. The retailer, which has 990 stores in 30 countries, partly blamed accounting technology, a write-down of the value of its inventories, and costs incurred by store closures. Its total revenue climbed 11 percent to 5.6 billion kroner.

Sacked for luxury spending THE ENGINEERING firm Kemp & Lauritzen has fired four employees for misusing company funds on luxury meals and expensive phones and tablets.

Overall they spent 270,000 kroner on the unauthorised perks. A fifth employee has been exonerated. Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry has suspended an employee who ate some of the meals.

Carlsberg’s green fingers FOLLOWING the success of its glued six-packs to cut plastic usage – sales have increased by 19 percent on last year – Carlsberg has unveiled another green initiative: tables made from recycled beer kegs. A deposit on the kegs encourages customers to return them, and the first tables will be unveiled in the new Aviator lounge at Copenhagen Airport on June 11, reports DI Business.

Bank offloads accounts DANSKE Bank sold all of its Estonian accounts to locally-based LHV Pank. The estimated value of the 10,800 private customer accounts is 3.1 billion kroner, according to LHV.

INDIA

INDIA’S LAS VEGAS

Photo: Unsplash.com

Today, Mussoorie is an exclusive haven for Indians fleeing from the summer heat. It is also home to first-class international boarding schools. In the past it was a somewhat disreputable destination for adventurous British offices and their love-sick wives ...

By Eric Schoon, Translation: Stephen Gadd

Uttarakhand, India: The trip from Jollygrant Airport just outside the state capital Dehradun up to the Mussoorie ‘hill station’ takes only around 45 minutes along the area’s best road. After what seems like an endless series of hairpin bends the trip ends at the top of the 2,000 metre high mountain crest where hotels from modest to the highest international standard are situated side by side looking out over the valley.

SIN CITY It proved to be an excellent idea and Mussoorie grew quickly and soon took on the character of a distinctly holiday town that flourished in the Indian summer and pretty much closed down completely when the winter in the Himalayas coated the roofs with a blanket of snow.

The town’s history goes back to the 1820s where British officers and civil servants desperately needed a cool destination to spend their summers. Temperatures in the Indian lowlands often reach between 40 and 50 degrees of humid heat and it was simply too much for the pale Europeans and their families. Mussoorie was perfectly suited for the purpose. It is high enough to ensure a much more European-friendly climate and its situation on the edge of the mountains with a view over the lowlands makes the place relatively easy to get to and from. You don’t feel imprisoned in the mountains here.

Richer families built their own luxurious hideaways and the number of hotels on the mountainside shot up to cope with the demand for cool breezes and European culture. English women in droves – married, widows and unmarried ones on the look-out for a prospective husband – arrived at the beginning of the season in May and filled the town’s hotels right up to September.

INDIA

PARTY LIKE IT’S 1899 British officers on leave followed, and enjoyed their stay in what was by the standards of the time a rather louche Eldorado. Love blossomed in the thin mountain air, as did drama and scandal. Mussoorie soon developed slowly and surely into something between Las Vegas and the Danish summer holiday town Løkken. The absolute high-point of the season was the middle of June.

There was masses of entertainment in the town with everything from cabarets and bars to a roller-skating rink, breweries and no less than 54 establishments where love could be bought from exotic ladies from all over the world. Here, there was drinking, gambling and partying without any restrictions. At times this relatively modest town was amongst the richest in India. There is – and has always been – a lot of money in the entertainment business …

SCHOOLS NOT SCANDALS But all good things come to an end, also the hedonistic life in the disreputable town in the mountains. Mussoorie simply grew out of its role as ‘sin city’.

Very early in the town’s history a number of good boarding schools were established for the children of Europeans stationed in India who didn’t have the opportunity or money to send them to the best schools in Europe. The city became well-known for the quality of its schools, and it still is today.

Today, Mussoorie International School is the town’s biggest educational attraction. It is India’s finest boarding school only for girls and it caters for classes 1-12. Founded in 1984, this school teaches around 700 pupils from 65 different nations and the school always comes very high on the list of schools with the best academic results in India. All the tuition takes place in English. A great many of the young schools pupils – who call themselves MIStars – have already distinguished themselves in adult life.

But it is not the only boarding school in the town that has managed to gain an international reputation for being an excellent school.

A RESPECTED RESIDENT It should also be remembered when looking back at Mussoorie’s colourful history that even during its golden age, this town that is oh-so-respectable today wasn’t only about ‘wine, women and song’. It was also home to a number of prominent people’s summer residences.

One such was the Scottish surveyor Colonel Sir George Everest, who was responsible for surveying the whole of India and did it with such precision that even today, his work is looked upon with respect in surveying circles.

His monumental efforts for India and the British Empire were later honoured when the highest peak in the Himalayas was named after him.

COME FEEL THE BUZZ The modern town of Mussorie is an exclusive holiday destination for rich Indians, a popular place in which to withdraw from the world and a high-class holiday destination. Here you can find orderly conditions combined with lots of Indian cultural buzz and hotels of a high international standard.

We stayed one night at the Hotel Brentwood at the top of the town. The experience can be summed up very simply: fantastic rooms, unique views, exquisite food and every modern convenience. Mussoorie is definitely a place that is worth spending a few days in ...

INDIA

DANISH CULTURE BUILDS BRIDGES TO INDIA

Classic diplomacy is not always the most effective way to mutual understanding between peoples. This is one of the main reasons Denmark has opened a cultural institute in New Delhi

By Eric Schoon, Translation: Stephen Gadd Ever since the idea for what is now called the Danish Cultural Institute was born in an occupied Denmark during 1940, the aim of the initiative has been to spread Danish culture in the world and use culture as a springboard for understanding between peoples.

At present, the Danish Cultural Institute has seven departments worldwide. They represent Danish culture in Belgium, Brazil, China, the Baltics, Poland, Russia and from January 19 this year, in New Delhi, India.

CPH POST visited the new institute in May and talked to the institute’s head, Thomas Sehested (pictured on next page), about his vision for an expanded cultural co-operation between Denmark and the cultural giant that is India.

CULTURAL TENSIONS And there really was a need for a new tone in the cooperation between the two countries. The background for this was, in short, that official relations between Denmark and the world’s largest democracy, India, had not been optimal for the last few years.

The reason was an extradition case from 2007, where Denmark refused to extradite a Danish citizen for trial on charges of terrorist activity in India back in 1995. To begin with the Danish ministry of justice gave the green light for extradition, but the decision was countermanded by the Danish courts.

India reacted by freezing co-operation between the

INDIA two countries and cancelling official visits and conversations between Indian and Danish civil servants. The situation was unfortunate for both parties, so the news that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Danish counterpart Lars Løkke Rasumussen had shaken hands on a deal renewing co-operation during Modi’s visit to the Nordics in April last year was received with considerable joy and relief. This included, among other things, the opening of a Danish cultural institute in New Delhi.

LET THE LAWYERS SORT IT OUT The leaders of the two countries simply agreed that the purely legal complications arising from the extradition case ought to be handled by the judicial system and that this disagreement ought not to stand in the way of closer co-operation between the two democracies.

The new cultural institute was inaugurated on January 19 this year at a separate address that is not part of the Danish embassy with an impressive ceremony. Among those participating were the DKI secretary general Camilla Mordhorst, Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and the chairman of the board of the Carlsberg Fund, Flemming Besenbacher – as well as a number of Danish and Indian cultural personalities.

400 YEARS OF DANISH INTEREST IN INDIA Next year it will be 400 years since Denmark began a co-operation with the mighty country in the east by establishing Tranquebar on the coast of the Bay of Bengal in what is now the state of Tamil Nadu. More than 200 years was to pass before Denmark gave up its official presence and handed over its possessions – that apart from Tranquebar also included the trading station at Serampore (or Frederiksnagore) – to England in 1845.

Photo: Pexels.com

Before we departed we had also managed to establish the first modern university in Asia. It was situated in Serampore that from 1829 had the status of being Denmark’s third university town after Copenhagen and Kiel. Denmark carried on building energetically on the bridges that were constructed and has shown great interest in the development of the fastgrowing country ever since.

BACKDROP FOR CELEBRATION It is therefore completely natural that the upcoming 400th anniversary of Danish-Indian co-operation should provide the framework for a long series of cultural events. The leader of the new Danish Cultural Institute in New Dehli, Thomas Sehested, has big plans for this occasion in particular.

With his background as an historian and with a passion stretching over many years for India and its colourful culture, there is absolutely no doubt that he will make an active contribution to ensuring that the new DanishIndian cultural co-operation will start off with a bang.

Photo: Pexels.com Photo: Pexels.com

Photo: Pexels.com

14 - 27 June 2019

BUSINESS OPINION

KAREY-ANNE DUEVANG WE’RE WELCOME - HONEST As a British mum of three who has lived in Denmark for 15 years, Karey-Anne started Welcome Group Consulting to address the challenges expats experience in settling into a new country dominated by unspoken rules. A law graduate, former diplomat and now CEO of WGC Relocation Company, she has also experienced first-hand the trials and tribulations of relocating

Help in your new home IN THE UK I’d been successful, first as a law graduate, then at forging a career in management.

I rose quickly through the ranks, bought property and travelled frequently.

Denmark promised excitement, plenty of challenges and a fresh start. But three months in and I hadn’t found work and had few friends, while the daily challenges were wearing me down.

Fast-forward 16 years and today I am a CEO who helps internationals in their quest to settle in Denmark. Just like me, many of those I work with today are seeking employment opportunities.

I THOMAS MULHERN GLOBAL DENMARK

RECENTLY gave a keynote speech at the annual gathering of bilingual schools in the Netherlands. This network, headed by the organisation Nuffic, represents over 150 bilingual schools and 30,000 pupils participating in bilingual education nationwide. For comparison’s sake, Denmark has two bilingual departments attended by under 500 students nationwide.

They are highly-educated, experienced professionals with valuable skills and knowledge who could contribute to the growth of Danish industry, but find it impossible to find employment.

Crawling towards a goal ONE THING we internationals have in common when we arrive in Denmark is a lack of understanding of Danish culture, and that includes workplace culture and particularly knowledge about recruitment procedures. If you would like to get hired, then understanding the application process is a good place to start.

Learning new things when you are an adult is not easy – even admitting you need to learn something new can be hard, but that is exactly what is needed.

I know how hard it can be, as I have recently set myself a goal of completing an Ironman.

An Ironman involves swimming

3.86 km, cycling 180 km and finishing with a marathon (42.2 km) – the average finishing time is between 10 and 16 hours!

I can’t swim crawl, so with my end goal in mind I needed to seek professional help and guidance.

I joined a club, networked with others and attended classes. I was incredibly nervous hopping into the pool that first day and celebrated just reaching the other side.

Eyes on the prize IF YOUR end-goal is to find

Indisputably an asset OVER 40 years of research has documented that bilingual education is a gift: from improving memory function and intercultural skills, to heightening meta-linguistic awareness.

Systematic evaluations of

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Give Yourself a Chance

bilingual education worldwide have shown that students attain the same levels of proficiency in reading and writing as students in monolingual (Danish or English only) programs – while developing the same appreciation and understanding of the host culture as students in monolingual programs.

In short: education using multiple languages is not a zero-sum proposition!

employment in Denmark, then be prepared to learn something new, to step outside of your comfort zone and to hop in.

Seek guidance and support from professionals or people who have experienced something similar, and commit to your goal 100 percent.

I like to let the people I work with know that it does get easier, and I promise that if you keep your goal in sight, then you will reach it.

I’m going after mine; now, go and get yours!

Word first, then the world DENMARK, to this day, has never regarded bilingual education as a viable alternative to a standard monolingual education.

But what is so substantially different between Denmark and the Netherlands that this framework could not work here? When will Denmark catch up and finally

Toxic vs treasured WHILE giving my speech, I highlighted how bilingual education in the Netherlands literally translates as ‘tweetalig onderwijs’, but how in Denmark it is a non-starter translating bilingual education in a similar fashion as ‘tosproget uddannelse’ – due to the toxicity of the word ‘tosproget’ in Danish culture.

When I said this, the room of a couple of hundred Dutch education leaders went silent in disbelief. At first, the silence surprised me as I have grown so accustomed to the negative connotations surrounding this word in Denmark. However, upon realising I had merely taken a one-hour flight and entered a terrain where bilingual (tosproget) education is seen as a gift and key tenant of the educational sector, the absurdity stuck me as well.

The goal in sight is not a bad view

launch a national bilingual education movement, just as the Dutch and other countries have done so successfully?

I submit that there is nothing so fundamentally different between the Danish and Dutch cultures as to why this cannot work in Denmark, and I truly hope the time is now for all stakeholders to jettison the false dichotomy and begin to look at bilingual education as an opportunity and not a threat.

It is time to bury the toxicity of the word ‘tosproget’ and see it for the first time as a positive word: a word full of promise. By winning the battle over this word, Denmark can transform the education sector and better position itself to win the battle for global talent, thus safeguarding the future of the Danish economy.

Thomas Knudsen Mulhern, the managing director of Globally Local (globallylocal.dk) and former head of the International Department at Institut Sankt Joseph, is a passionate advocate of bilingual education in Denmark. In addition, Thomas co-hosts the Global Denmark Podcast (globaldkpodcast.com)

Economics Explained

PIXABAY

I

REMEMBER arriving in Denmark in 2003 full of enthusiasm and hope. But over the following months my enthusiasm dwindled – my hopes quashed by employment rejection letters and no invites to interviews.

11

12 OPINION

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

14 - 27 June 2019

Dansk Folkeparti – over and out?

F

Immigration overhaul ON THE other hand the pink liberal party Radikale is once again at the centre of it all and will be decisive in the formation of the next government.

It still remains to be seen which parties will constitute the government, but it seems likely that it will be a Socialdemokratiet minority government with Mette Frederiksen as PM. There might be room for some softening on immigration, although a broad hard line majority is still dominant.

Symbolic border control, along with the concentration camp-like conditions for rejected asylum-seekers who do not agree to go home voluntarily, will have to go.

More foreigners in EU QUOTA refugees will start to be received again and there will be more liberal rules on foreign labour to satisfy Danish industry, which is craving for hands.

The left wing wants thousands of ‘warm hands’ in the health and

Crazier than Christmas

social services sector. The irony is that these hands are simply not there and will have to be imported from non-EU countries.

Demographically Denmark has a declining and ageing population. If politicians want to increase welfare for the population in general – and that is what they claim they want – they need economic growth.

That is hardly possible without an influx of foreigners from non-EU countries, as the EU is not enough. The same dilemma also exists in most other EU member countries.

More taxes and welfare FREDERIKSEN won the election with a program of pension rights for people in the labour market who are worn-out and tired. She did not reveal any specifics but said she would negotiate with industry and unions after the election.

It will be interesting to see the outcome, but it seems likely it will satisfy fewer than it will disappoint, and it has the potential to store up trouble for the next election.

She is also expected to announce increased taxes to finance the promised welfare improvements. You can win an election and government power with promises, but you can lose it when the bills have to be paid.

The same goes for the consensus on climate measures.

When the bill for reducing CO2 emissions comes in, it will be the general population that has to pay it. Taxes on air travel, fossil fuels and imported goods produced elsewhere and transported here will hit everybody.

After all of that, it will be interesting to see if the green faces turn pale when the bailiffs come knocking. (ES)

Vivienne McKee, Denmark’s best-known English entertainer, is this country’s most beloved foreign import. Over the last 36 years, hundreds of thousands of Copenhageners have enjoyed her annual Crazy Christmas Cabaret show at Tivoli, marvelling at her unique, wry Anglo wit and charm.

ILOVETHEEU

OR FOUR years Dansk Folkeparti has dominated the Danish political scene, holding the post of speaker in Parliament as well as the political balance in the government.

Now a broad range of parties have adopted austerity and symbol politics on immigration, although there are no asylum-seekers to speak of. No longer having a monopoly on their flagship policies and with new parties establishing themselves to the right, the meltdown was coming.

The storm has cost the party 21 seats – losses in excess of 50 percent – and DF has plummeted from peak influence to no influence at all. Even Pia Kjærsgaard has had to step down as speaker.

VIVIENNE MCKEE

Boris’s credentials are like unicorns: they don’t exist

I

WROTE a show called ‘Killing the Danes’ in which I posed the question that if Danes are so damnably happy, why are there so many unsmiling faces around?

Nation at Land’s End TO MANY of my Danish friends, the country that offers the best humour is Britain.

Think Monty Python, Eddie Izzard and, for that matter, any joker in the pub.

But it’s been a challenge lately. Trump comedy has eclipsed other targets – particularly Brexit. Even the jokes about the Conservative government’s uselessness have dried up. The idea of Brexit is simply too depressing and nobody seems to understand it anyway. Even the word is weird, and it didn’t help when Theresa May explained: “Brexit means Brexit.”

It is said that history often repeats itself – the first time as tragedy, the second as farce. Britons feel they are living through both as the country navigates its way out of the European Union.

Who needs comedians?

MANY OF the mistakes have been tragi-farcical. For example, the government gave a post-Brexit contract to bring in supplies to a company that was discovered to have no ships. And it pledged to replace red European passports with British blue ones and then gave the contract to a Franco-Dutch company.

Most laughably of all perhaps, it promised to forge trade deals with 73 countries, but only ten are in place (including one with the Faroe Islands, so there will be lots of Sarah Lund sweaters to go around).

Meanwhile, Brits are making their table plans for dinner so that hard and soft Brexiteers do not sit together and ruin

‘HELLO’

the evening. And, as ridiculous as it may sound, Boris Johnson may yet be made prime minister.

Taking on Brexit COMEDY professionals are uneasy with the subject of breakfast ... I mean Brexit. I managed to squeeze one reference into last year’s Crazy Christmas Cabaret, ‘Fogg’s Off’, with a new text to Adele’s song ‘Hello’ (see box).

Recently the best comedy about Brexit has come from the public. At the anti-Brexit march in London, the slogans were hilarious, ranging from “Even IKEA makes better cabinets” and “I’m never gonna give EU up” to “The only single market I will give up is Tinder.”

British people are a real melting pot, so when one million of them are seen in one day with this kind of humour, it is uplifting.

No wonder the EU is sorry to see us go. Not just for the economic and political reasons, but because Britain offers other nations an example of how to laugh at themselves.

I have decided this year to take on the Brexit challenge. My Crazy Christmas Cabaret show is called ‘The Three Brexiteers’. I hope it will offer the chance for those ‘happy’ Danes to finally break into a smile because it will be “all for fun, and fun for all”.

Hello from the No-Brexit side.

Our lives have been a bumpy ride.

Just months to go, and there’s no end in sight.

Hard Deal or Soft, but a No Deal’s not right.

Hello, we should have foreseen this.

We’ve lost all our Polish cleaners.

Let’s vote again, and we must be hasty.

I’m so afraid I won’t eat Danish pastry … anymore.

OPINION

14 - 27 June 2019

13

FENG TIE

I

ARRIVED in Copenhagen on the last Friday of May as the Chinese ambassador to the beautiful Kingdom of Denmark. On my first day at work the following week, I had the great honour to present my credentials to HM Queen Margrethe.

I am here at a time when China-Denmark relations are blessed with new opportunities: the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has entered a new decade and the 70th anniversary of our diplomatic ties is coming up next year. I am well aware of my responsibilities.

Open unilateralism IN THE past two years, the US administration has openly preached unilateralism, protectionism and ‘America First’. It is against this backdrop that the China-US economic and trade friction came to a head.

The United States uses its trade deficit as a pretext to impose retaliatory tariffs on China.

It claims that America has been taken advantage of by China, and its trade deficit has exceeded 500 billion US dollars. In fact, the total US trade deficit with China stood at 153.6 billion US dollars in 2018, which is only 37 percent of the claimed figure.

From 2009 to 2018, US exports to China helped to support over 1.1 million American jobs.

The United States has gained a great deal from trade with China, and Chinese-US trade is beneficial to both sides. It is groundless to say that America has been taken advantage of.

Market factors CHINA holds the view that the US trade deficit is the result of a number of market factors playing together, including competitiveness, economic structure, international division of labour, trade policies, and the status of the US dollar as a major global currency.

However, the United States has provoked the economic and trade friction with China and attempted to coerce China into accepting its demands. This is typical trade bullying. What the United States has done has indeed damaged the interests of both countries and the rest of the world.

Since they were launched in February 2018, the economic and trade consultations have come a long way, with the two sides agreeing on most issues. Yet the consultations have suffered several setbacks – all because of the US breach of consensus, commitments and good faith.

The United States, while it keeps changing its own demands, accuses China of backtracking.

This is totally unfair and only shows that the United States does not take China as an equal in the negotiations.

Dialogue and consultation CHINA believes that the economic and trade differences and friction should be addressed through dialogue and consultation. However, such

The ambassador made one of his first appearances at the British Embassy on June 6

consultation should be based on mutual respect, equality and benefit. Talks will get nowhere if one side tries to coerce the other with no respect for its sovereignty and core interests or only seek selfish benefits.

To reach a trade deal, the United States should remove all additional tariffs imposed on Chinese exports and be realistic in its demands for China’s purchase of US goods. Only with a properly balanced text can the agreement serve the interests of both sides. It is hoped the United States will give up its wrong approach, bear in mind the principle of mutual respect, equality and benefits, and join China in trying to foster sound and stable bilateral economic and trade relations.

Reforms and achievements CHINA does not want a trade war, but is not afraid of one and will fight if it has to. In the 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 40 years of reform and opening up, we have achieved great things. China is now the second largest economy in the world. Over 700 million people have been lifted out of poverty in the last four decades.

China’s contribution to the

global economy has grown to more than 30 percent. Our economic co-operation with other countries has played an indispensable role, but more importantly, China’s impressive advancement is attributed to the hard work of the Chinese people.

Over the years, we have blazed a development path that

suits us. We have no intention of exporting our development model, but we do cherish the correct historical choices made by the Chinese people. We will never give in if any country attempts to force China off its development path. China has the right to develop, and the Chinese people have the right to a better life.

HASSE FERROLD

Common ties with Denmark DENMARK was among the first European countries to establish diplomatic ties with the People’s Republic of China. With a solid foundation, our relationship enjoys great momentum, and the friendship between the two peoples keeps growing.

It is in the common interests of both sides to further our bilateral ties. I am ready to work with my Danish colleagues and friends to promote mutual trust and enhance exchanges and co-operation for new progress in our relationship. Denmark will have a new government, and I believe China-Denmark relations will continue to develop.

My new friends here have told me that free trade is in the Danish DNA. As they are concerned about the economic and trade friction between China and the United States, I would like to share China’s position on this matter.

HASSE FERROLD

New Chinese ambassador to Denmark an advocate of free trade

Ambassador Feng Tie on the day he met the queen

14 COMMUNITY

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ABOUT TOWN

14 - 27 June 2019

PHOTOS BY HASSE FERROLD

Among the 82,000 people who participated in the second edition of the Royal Run on Monday in four cities in Denmark – Aarhus, Aalborg, Copenhagen, and Rønne on the island of Bornholm – were UAE ambassador Fatema Khamis Almazrouei (centre left) and Hans Hermansen (second left), the CEO of the Copenhagen Post. In this year’s event, 60 percent of the participants were women and one-third had never run in a race before. It has been confirmed it will return next year

Maia Morgenstern (centre), the Romanian actress who played Jesus’s mother Mary in Mel Gibson’s 2004 film ‘The Passion of the Christ’, was the guest of honour at a Jewish Culture Festival event at the Romanian Embassy on June 4. Morgenstern performed ‘Janka’, a monologue by Oscar Speace that celebrates the life of Auschwitz survivor Janka Festinger, in Romanian with English subtitles. Among the audience were Romanian ambassador Mihai-Alexandru Gradinar (left)

The special relationship is alive and kicking if British ambassador Dominic Schroeder’s reaction to US ambassador Carla Sands arriving at his embassy on June 6 is anything to go by. Guests gathered to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday

Prince Joachim turned 50 on June 7, but four days earlier he was the guest of honour at a special concert at Bellevue Teatret that was arranged by opera singer Jens-Christian Wandt. A special dedication to the prince will appear in our next edition of Diplomacy Magazine, which comes out on June 27

Bangladeshi ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhit (centre left) organised a food and culture festival at his embassy on June 9 to celebrate Eid, where his guests included Saudi ambassador Fahad Alruwaily (centre right)

Italian ambassador Luigi Ferrari (second right) chose the Italian Cultural Institute as the venue for his country’s national day celebrations on June 4, where one of the guests of honour was a Vespa scooter

14 - 27 June 2019

The Irish Embassy and Tourism Ireland co-hosted a reception at the Kayak Bar in central Copenhagen on June 7 ahead of the Euro 2020 qualifier between Denmark and the Republic of Ireland at Parken. Among those present were (left-right) Rikke Petersen from Tourism Ireland, the Irish minister for European affairs, Helen McEntee, Irish ambassador Cliona Manahan, and Tobias Andersen from the Kayak Bar

COMMUNITY

15

Icelandic ambassador Benedikt Bjarki Jonsson (left), the dean of the diplomatic corps, is departing these shores, as is Dutch ambassador Henk Swarttouw (centre left). They both bid farewell to the queen on June 3. Meanwhile, the new Chinese ambassador is Feng Tie (centre right). Huānyíng! And the South Korean ambassador agrée is Sang-jin Park (right). Hwan-yeong!

16 HISTORY

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

14 - 27 June 2019

The hawk of Holbæk: just 15 years old with the world at her feet When Denmark defended its World Cup crown in 1971 in Mexico, it fell on the shoulders of young striker Susanne Augustesen to fire her side to victory in front of a “neverending crowd” at the famous Estadio Azteca EDWARD OWEN

W

ITH THE 2019 Women’s World Cup underway in France, it is disappointing the Danes aren’t in attendance this time round – especially considering their achievement of finishing runners-up at the last Euros.

Whilst no team or nation has a divine right when it comes to football, there is a certain affinity between the Women’s World Cup and the Danes and a story worth retelling.

Football – not for girls!

IN 1970 AND 1971 the Danish women’s team won back-to-back World Cups. Despite this fantastic achievement, these tournaments were considered ‘unofficial’ and not recognised by a global governing body. The Danes even managed the feat of beating the host nations in each final: Italy in ’70 and Mexico in ‘71.

At the time, the general attitude outside the women’s football community was not a positive one.

For example, in the post-war era the English FA even went as far as banning registered clubs from allowing women’s teams to use their grounds. Things were not much different in Denmark.

“Even in the 60s and 70s there was still the idea that women should stay home and not play football,” Susanne Augustesen, who scored a hat-trick in the 1971 final aged only 15, explained to CPH POST. “People thought we didn’t understand how to do it.”

With an open-minded family and a determination to play a sport she loved, the teenager would not be discouraged and relished in surprising doubters

with her ability. Her attitude was: “I’ll show you!”

Feminine football fiesta NEVERTHELESS, despite the reluctance to accept women’s football, the 1971 edition in Mexico was well documented – possibly due to the success of the men’s tournament a year earlier.

But while the media were taking an interest, the Mexican FA wasn’t, making it very clear that any club allowing the women to use their facilities would face a fine.

Fortunately, two privately-owned stadia were secured: Estadio Azteca, the huge venue of the 1970 and 1986 men’s World Cup finals, and Estadio Jalisco. And the locals turned up in heavy numbers to fill them, with over 80,000 attending some group games.

It was no surprise, therefore, that the tournament attracted sponsors, including Martini and Rossi.

And as a further commercial feature, tournament organisers tried to play on the femininity angle – even painting goalposts with pink stripes.

Meanwhile, the Danish squad had problems of their own when their bus broke down en route between Mexico City and Guadalajara, resulting in them being sportingly picked up by group rivals Italy.

Hours from anywhere and surrounded by vast desert shrubland, Augustesen recalls a beautiful starry sky making the situation seem not so bad.

Denmark eased through the group and then in the semis romped to a 5-0 victory over Argentina.

A young hero emerges JUST LIKE many of the nations participating, the Danish team was made up of relatively young players in their 20s.

Most, if not all of the players, were used to seeing just a handful of spectators. Entering the field of play, Augustesen remained cool despite not being able to look up too much at the giant crowd.

“Before we entered the stadium

from the changing room there was a lot of noise from the pre-match show. As we came in I remember looking up a little bit, but then I had to stop because it was a neverending crowd – I had to just focus on the game.”

In front of 115,000 people, the teenager went on to score a World Cup final hat-trick, as the Danes beat hosts Mexico 3-0.

Hailed home as heroes ON THEIR return from Mexico the victorious Danes were given a celebratory reception at Copenhagen Town Hall. Augustesen was greeted there by the mayor of Holbæk – her home town – and whisked back to a congratulatory gathering.

Augustesen and her teammates were suddenly in demand.

Two or so months after their Mexican success, the Danes hosted Italy in a one-off match.

Scoring in a 2-0 win, Augustesen returned to the dressing room to find two Italian football presidents waiting to offer her a professional club contract.

There was just one problem – she needed to finish school first.

A few years later an Italian friend phoned Augustesen and asked her to come and play in Italy. With her friend’s call credit running out, Augustesen had to decide quickly – she said ‘Yes’ on the condition another friend could join her.

In 1974 her career began in earnest with Bologna. For the next 21 years she would play for various clubs in Italy and score over 600 goals.

More needs to be done DESPITE the celebrations, the achievement remained ‘unofficial’ in the eyes of FIFA and the DBU (Danish FA). However, in 2016 the DBU placed Augustesen and compatriot Lone Smidt Nielsen in its football hall of fame – the first women to be included. Two years later they were joined by the entire team from Mexico 1971.

The story of Augustesen and her team-mates has been written about by Hans Krabbe in the

book ‘Den Glemte Triumf ’ (the forgotten triumph).

When reflecting on her own journey and women’s football today, Augustesen believes there is still some work to be done and investment needed to continue improving women’s football.

“We had to fight every day against discrimination and I think the fight is still going on – if you want a product, the DBU must invest in women’s football.

The national team in my time didn’t have any money, and this still needs to improve,” she said.

“You will see at the World Cup great technique and tactics and very good games. It’s important to support it. We need time for clubs to develop, but it needs support.”

WOMEN ON THE WORLD STAGE: Unofficial European Championships took place in Italy in 1969 and 1979. Italy and Denmark were the victors Unofficial World Cups in 1970 and 1971, which were both won by Denmark, served as the forerunners for a series of unofficial tournaments in the 1980s known as the ‘Mundialito’ (little world cup) The first FIFA Women’s World Cup took place in 1991 and was held in China – 12 teams took part Denmark have never made it past the group stages. Since qualifying for the first three finals (1991-99), they have only qualified once this century – in 2007 The United States are the most successful nation with three titles, followed by Germany with two. The US have finished in the top three in all seven tournaments Norway remains the only Nordic team to win the title (1995), and it has made the semi-finals on four occasions. Sweden has made the semis twice All of the matches from the 2019 World Cup will be shown on DR3

HISTORY

14 - 27 June 2019

17

Two decades on from its completion, the link that bridged two countries Øresundsbroen is world famous: as a miracle of engineering, an architectural wonder and for providing the backdrop to one of Europe’s best loved crime series RUCHI PUJARI

T

HE SWEDES call it Öresundsbron, the Danes prefer Øresundsbroen.

And around the world many simply know it as ‘The Bridge’ after the multi award-winning Nordic Noir drama of the same name, which has been screened in more than 100 countries.

As an engineering miracle, architectural wonder and brooding backdrop, one thing is certain: the bridge has not gone unnoticed since it officially opened 19 years ago this month to enhance communication and improve economic and cultural collaborations between Denmark and Sweden.

Some 16 km in length, it is one of the longest combined road and rail bridges in Europe, while the bridge itself stretches for 7.845 km, before plunging into an underwater tunnel just over 3.5 km long.

This summer will mark 20 years since its completion – on 14 August 1999 Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden met midway across to mark the occasion, and then on 12 June 2000, some 79,871 runners took part in a half-marathon, two and half a weeks before it officially opened on July 1. Due to the death of nine people at a Pearl Jam performance at the Roskilde Festival the day before, the ceremony opened with a minute’s silence.

Strategic importance THE BRIDGE spans the relatively narrow Øresund Strait, which for many years was known as the ‘Gateway to Baltic’ – a point of strategic importance that countries have been ready to go to war over. The dual objectives of Britain’s 1807 bombardment of Copenhagen

were to take control of the strait and take the Danes out of the Napoleonic War. Control of the waterway has historically yielded a hefty return from the lucrative trade routes to the east, and today it continues to be one of the busiest shipping lanes in Europe.

The Øresund also has a great symbolic significance – a little like the UK’s English Channel. In the 19th century, it was the departure point for many Danish emigrants as they sailed away to a new life in America; in the early 1900s, Denmark’s first ever international plane departure made a groundbreaking 15-minute flight over the waterway before landing safely in Sweden; and in October 1943, crossing it was the difference between life and death for many Danish Jews fleeing the Nazis.

So it was no surprise when a proposal to build a link was first suggested in 1936, and when serious plans began to emerge after World War II, even though doubts over raising the necessary funds kept the plans on the drawing board.

The talks continued for the next 60 years, and finally in 1991 the project acquired the goahead from both governments after a scheme was proposed to incorporate the private sector.

On schedule, no cakewalk THE CONSTRUCTION of the link, which was designed by the Danish engineering firm COWI and cost 19.6 billion kroner, started in 1995. Four years later, and three months ahead of schedule – please take note Metro City Ring – it was finished. In the year following its opening, traffic between the two countries increased by 61 percent.

Nevertheless, its construction was far from simple, and it faced many technical obstructions – particularly at the Danish end.

With Copenhagen Airport so close, it was important the height of the bridge never posed

The Bridge: the perfect place to hide a body

a threat to planes passing by. But a low bridge would similarly impede maritime traffic, so it was decided to build a tunnel.

To enable this, a manmade island, Peberholm, was created, where the car and train traffic emerged from the tunnel to then be split between the upper and lower decks of the bridge.

Additionally, 16 unexploded WW II bombs were discovered on the seabed during the construction.

Boost to both countries THE BRIDGE has enabled the Øresund Region, which recently adopted the name Greater Copenhagen and stretches nearly as far as Gothenburg, to take on a much clearer identity as one of Scandinavia’s biggest, most densely populated metropolitan regions.

Comprising Copenhagen and Malmö as well as vast areas either side of the bridge, it continues to steadily grow and today has a population of almost 4 million.

Commuters between Denmark and Sweden have benefited as the travelling time between the two main cities has been reduced to only half an hour by train. Previously a ferry from Helsingør to Helsingborg was necessary.

The bridge has properly connected the Øresund region, providing its population with many more opportunities to travel, work and study.

While the vast majority of commuters come from Sweden, the bridge also makes it easier for Danish residents to network

with their Swedish counterparts, and closer ties have been established between businesses and educational institutions.

Sure beats the ferry NOEL WEST from Malmö regularly commutes across the bridge by road, and he is not alone. In 2017, some 7 million vehicles passed over – the highest number since it opened.

“Travelling by car over the bridge is much faster and easier, and it is also beautiful,” enthused West. “You are on the top of the bridge, in the middle of a sea. The sight is just marvelous.”

Christine Wei, a student from Aarhus, prefers to use the train when she travels to Sweden. In total, 14,000 commuters tend to use the route every day, despite the identity checks that have lengthened the journey time.

“It takes around half an hour and doesn’t cost much,” she said.

“It isn’t expensive considering the fact that I travelled from one country to another. The train ride was really good. I could see

the sea between Denmark and Sweden. It’s beautiful!”

Prior to the bridge opening, around 6,000 people a day commuted by ferry.

Nearly paid for itself ØRESUNDSBRO Konsortiet, the Danish-Swedish organisation that owns and runs the bridge, predicts the bridge will have paid for itself by 2023 – four years ahead of the original estimate.

This isn’t that surprising when you consider that a single trip by road in a normal car costs you 54 euros, but much more in a longer vehicle. Motorcyclists are charged 32 euros.

Discounts are offered if you purchase the tickets online, and regular travellers can get a huge discount with an annual pass.

Most people in the capital region of Denmark and southern Sweden would agree it is a price worth paying, although it goes without saying that they’ll be hopeful of a substantial reduction in price once the bridge is free of debt!

ØRESUND BRIDGE FACTS: The link is 16 km long, consisting of three sections: an underwater tunnel (3.510 km), the Peberholm artificial tunnel (4.055) and the bridge (7.845) Peberholm was built to enable traffic to pass between the bridge, where the rail and vehicle traffic run on two separate levels, and the tunnel where the traffic runs at the same level While the bridge cost 19.6 billion kroner, additional costs of 7.9 and 2.6 billion kroner were incurred in the Danish and Swedish landworks respectively Over 7 million vehicles passed over the bridge in 2017 – the highest number since the link open in 2000

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

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HE MUSICAL theatre establishment SceneKunst – which teaches singing, dancing and acting to youngsters at 22 schools in Hellerup, Lyngby, Roskilde, Sydyksten, Østerbro and now Vesterbro – is in the midst of its year-end

performances at MusikTeatret Albertslund.

The play of choice for 2019 is ‘Mulan’, the story of a courageous girl who cuts her hair off and joins the Chinese military instead of her father, which was made into a Disney film in 1998.

14 - 27 June 2019

OUT AND ABOUT

For SceneKunst, now in its 11th year of existence after being co-founded by British expat Russell Collins and his wife Christina Anthony, this was their biggest challenge yet.

Mulan is set in China approximately around the time of

ALL PHOTOS: SCENEKUNST

18 EVENTS

Christ, and SceneKunst didn’t hold back on the costumes – dressing hundreds of children in silk robes.

And it gets even more complicated when you consider that they’re staging the play in both Danish and English, as

EVENTS Copenhell June 19-22; Refshaleøen, Cph K; copenhell.dk Denmark’s most prestigious rock and metal festival is celebrating 10 years this year. The event has a stellar line-up this year including The Scorpions, Tool and Slipknot.

Summer Dance June 24-July 25; Mon-Thu 19.0022.00; Fælledparken Cph N; sommerdans.dk You can now learn how to dance, for free! There is a range of styles you can choose from including kizomba, tango, folk dance, and Bollywood.

Skt Hans Aften June 23; all over CPH Find a bonfire and join in the fun as the witch burns.

CPH Dance Festival June 14-15; Pumpehuset, Studiestræde 52, Cph K Attend workshops, dance shows and concerts, and then dance into the small hours.

Copenhagen Classico June 16; Onkel Dannys Plads, Cph V; 100kr; copenhagenclassico.dk If your idea of a bicycle race involves leisurely riding and breaks for coffee and champagne, this is the one to sign up for. Then after the race, participants enjoy lunch and drinks. Don’t forget to dress up Craft’s market Absalon June 22, 10:00-15:00; Folkehuset Absalon, Sønder Boulevard 73, Cph V; absaloncph.dk Jewellery artists, fashion designers, graphic creators, ceramists, potters and many more.

Summer fest June 22; Nørrebroparken, Cph N Enjoy games, sports, theatre, barbecue, music and lots of fun activities!

Fluo Moon Party June 27; secret location TBC Party from midnight to dawn with a playlist of techno, electro and house songs.

Copenhagen Photo Festival ongoing, ends June 16; Photo City, Cph Ø; 80kr; copenhagenphotofestival.com Set out for some abstract travel where the only limit is the sky.

Marina Abramović ongoing, ends 2020; Royal Library Søren Kierkegaards Plads 1, Cph K; pre-booking necessary at kb.dk/en ‘Method for Treasure’, the Serbian artist’s new installation at the Black Diamond, allows visitors to become actors in her world of treasures.

International day of yoga June 21; UN City, Marmorvej 51, Cph; FB @hssdenmark United Nations, Denmark in collaboration with the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh has organized a free yoga session, a practice that originated in India.

Talk about The Beatles June 24, 20:00; Folkehuset Absalon, Sønder Boulevard 73, Cph V; absaloncph.dk Take a journey through the past when The Beatles were all the rage. The talk provides insight into the Beatlemania phenomenon which significantly affected the culture in the West.

Dharmander Singh & Nik Coppin June 17; Drop Innm Kompagnistræde 34, Cph; meetup.com Unwind with these English standup comedians.

Elmegade flea market June 15; Elmegade, Nørrebro, Living in Saudi Arabia June 12, 19:00; Books & Cph N Company, Hellerup; booksand- Spend the weekend with your family at this lively market you company.dk Immerse yourselves in Arabic cul- can shop, eat, or even paint your face! ture, lifestyle and much more.

SceneKunst had international schools in Hellerup, Østerbro and soon Vesterbro.

SceneKunst is holding a free trial day at its new international school in Vesterbro on August 17 – visit scenekunstskoler.dk to find out more.

DAVE SMITH Leisure Guidance Feb 13, 17:00; Huset-KBH, Radhusstraede 13 , Cph K International House Cph is organising an interesting and useful event for international citizens just arrived in the capital, which is guaranteed to enhance your lifestyle opportunities, whilst expanding your network. (VP) Refugee food festival June 20-24; venues include Iluka and Birkesmosegaard; refugeefoodfestival.com This is the first time that Copenhagen will be hosting the refugee food festival, commemorating the World Refugee Day. Many competent refugee chefs will participate, bringing in cuisine specialties from their home lands.

Silent Disco June 14; Refshalevej 209A, Cph K Wear your headphones and choose the music you want to dance to.

ON SCREENS

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Nepotism, necrophilia, necro-nepotism – once and always in Hollywood BEN HAMILTON

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HERE’S only one type of nepotism I can condone: the growing tendency of actors to use their influence to get their children to play themselves in films – either their actual self in a biopic (Ice Cube’s son O’Shea Jackson Jr played the aspiring rapper in Straight Outta Compton) or their younger self in a flashback (Meryl Streep and Glen Close’s daughters in Evening and The Wife respectively).

But I’m not sure you can call the decision to cast Michael Gandolfini as the young Tony Soprano in the long-awaited prequel movie The Many Saints of Newark nepotism. Necro-nepotism maybe – after all, who could ever turn down Big Tone … even from beyond the grave. Or Aaron Spelling, formally married to a necrophiliac and dead these 13 years, whose daughter Tori – young enough to be his great-grandchild– is still getting work according to the terms of his estate.

Life after Compton THE EVER-GROWING Shaft (June 28 on Netflix) franchise didn’t go down the father-son route when the 2000 version continued the story with Samuel L Jackson playing the nephew of Richard Roundtree’s character, who again features in this third instalment. All three characters are called John Shaft and all three films are called Shaft.

But there’s no continuity to note in Men in Black 4: International (Not Released Worldwide; June 13 at cinemas) – not even one of Will Smith’s annoying brats playing an unwelcome cameo. Only Emma Thompson (who has appeared in six films with her mother) returns from the third instalment seven years ago, but absolutely nobody from the first and second films. At the helm is F Gary Gray, the director of the aformentioned Straight Outta Compton, but don’t get your hopes up, as he pretty much got that gig because he used to make videos for the likes of Ice Cube and Dr Dre and therefore knew the subject matter.

Continuing with the hip-hop theme we have Beats (June 19 on Netflix), the Chicago-set tale of an agoraphobic beatsmith prodigy who joins forces with the school security guard, a bigname manager back in the day.

It looks authentic.

The next Rocky?

BASED on a true story, and critically acclaimed since its release last July, A Prayer Before Dawn (76 on Metacritic; June 13 at cinemas) has been compared to classic prison films like Midnight Express. Imprisoned in Bangkok, Liverpool boxer Billy Moore (Joe Cole) trains in Muai Thai boxing to earn his freedom – but funnily enough, Moore’s real-story is even more interesting. He ironically moved to Thailand hoping to escape a life of drugs, alcohol and

burglary in his home town, and before he was locked up he got a job as Sylvester Stallone’s stunt double on Rambo IV. And now he’s inspired the next Rocky!

Before you go all holier than thou and thank your lucky stars you’ve never ended up in a Thai prison, watch the documentary Push (NRW; June 13 at cinemas) and ask whether you’ve ever been involved in criminal activity. Like whether your money ended up in a hedge fund that aggressively buys up housing and evicts tenants to make way for the super-rich, or maybe you’re a part-time speculator who sees little harm in fuelling the constant rise in house prices?

Also recommended is Booksmart (84; June 20 at cinemas) from debutant director Olivia Wilde, who some of you might remember as the long-suffering wife in Vinyl and as one of students in House. Nothing in her career suggested she would be capable of helming one of the comedies of the year, but this simple story about two bookworms cutting loose on their final day at high school is just that.

To complete a low-key fortnight for new movies we have the canine perspective tale A Dog’s Journey (43; June 20 at cinemas) and Agatha Christie spoof Murder Mystery (June 14 on Netflix) starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, whose father, returning to the original theme, was ironically once in Days of our Lives.

Do you ever get the feeling you’re being shafted?

In a caper that gives Sandler an excuse to dress up as Magnum PI, the pair are falsely accused of killing someone on a boat.

Judging by the trailer, Botox has enhanced Aniston’s deadpan skills, while Sandler looks dead in the water.

Ben’s back in Boston OVER ON TV land, it’s also pretty dead, but if you find room for one newbie, it has to be City on a Hill (HBO Nordic, June 17), a fictional account of how two police officers orchestrated a clean-up of Boston’s spiralling crime problem. Set in the 1990s and starring Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge – MC Ren in Compton! – the series is based on an idea of Ben Affleck’s, continuing a love affair with the city in which he based the scripts for Good Will Hunting, Gone Baby Gone and The Town.

Meanwhile, Copenhagen’s favourite son Giancarlo Esposito (Gus Fring in Breaking Bad) is returning in Jett (HBO Nor-

dic, June 15), a classy looking crime series that revolves around a female thief (Carla Gugino).

Esposito, the son of Italian (Naples of course) and American expats, spent the first six years of his life in the Danish capital.

Elsewhere, we’ve got new seasons of Dark (S2, Netflix, June 21), Krypton (S2, HBO Nordic, June 13), Marvel’s Jessica Jones (S3, Netflix, June 15) and Riviera (S2, C More, June 4); the promising high school-based, young adult dramas Trinkets (Netflix, June 15) and Euphoria (HBO Nordic, June 17) derive most of their characters from support groups for kleptomaniacs and drug addicts respectively; and Mr Iglesias (Netflix, June 21) looks like the worst standup comedian vehicle of all time.

But at least its star Gabriel Iglesias is no relation to Julio.

Besides, Enrique filled those shoes a long time ago. I mention this because of the nepotism … not because he ended up with Anna Kournikova.

a solo exhibition by

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johan tirén (sweden)

28/05/2019 14:01

Danish is not a piece of cake

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