No euro: Danish faith in the European dream is at an all-time low, according to a survey carried out by TNS Gallup. Only 22 percent of Danes would back the notion of accepting the euro as a national currency. This is in stark contrast to a similar survey from 2011, in which 41 percent of the population welcomed the idea of a single European currency. The survey caused Dansk Folkeparti’s party president, Kristian Thulsen Dahl, to call on the government to reconsider its position regarding the EU. “We simply need to accept that Danish citizens are getting fed up, and want to get off the merry-go-round,” he told Berlingske newspaper.
Ellen’s 696: Ellen Trane Nørby, Venstre’s culture spokesperson, was roundly mocked this week after bombarding the Culture Ministry with 696 questions about public support for museums after a religious art museum in Lemvig had its funding application rejected – a museum that her mother happened to sit on the board of. Nørby asked for specific funding details about 87 different museums. Nørby’s actions were quickly interpreted as vindictive. Given that the Culture Ministry is obliged to answer all the questions, Nørby’s 696 questions were enormously burdensome. Nørby later acknowledged that “the connection to my mother looks stupid”.
Ten jobs: The union Dansk Metal sent a message out to 2,000 shop stewards across the country asking them to find work for the more than 1,600 union members slated to lose unemployment benefits at the start of the year, when the benefits period is cut from two to four years. Of the 883 companies that responded, 836 reported they had no openings. The other 47 companies were able to round up a total of ten jobs or apprenticeships. The head of Dansk Metal, Torben Poulsen, said the figures show that benefits should be extended until the economy turns around. Nearly 16,000 workers are scheduled to lose unemployment benefits on January 1.
Please let it end: The election to see who will replace Villy Søvndal as Socialistisk Folkeparti leader will finally be held on Saturday, leading to hopes that the weeks-long endless media coverage will finally end once either Astrid Krag (left) or Annette Vilhelmsen (right) claims the post.
CPH Post Word of the Week: Værnepligt (noun) – Compulsory military service. Where you heard it: The government proposed cutting the compulsory service as a way to make the Defence Ministry achieve its required budget cuts.
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