The Danish Debate

Last weekend more than 100,000 people descended on the towns of Allinge and Sandvig on the island of Bornholm. They’ve come to The People’s Democratic Festival, Folkemødet, to hear people talk.

Several hundred tents are pitched throughout the two towns and inside them people can be found debating, day and night. The hosts are political parties, media, lobby groups and NGOs. All use the opportunity to pitch their agenda and engage their audience. 

I spent three days at Folkemødet, soaking up debates, drinking beer in the harbour and talking to as many people as I could. 

So this episode is slightly different. It’s a reportage of my long weekend, made up of five short interviews, and sound that captures the atmosphere. Among the guests is economist Bjørn Lomborg, newly elected MEP Karen Melchior, and cannabis activist Cutter Mehri. 

/Contact and feedback/

Please get in touch with feedback or ideas for future episodes. Are there any topics or issues in Danish society you want covering?

Email me: [email protected]

Otherwise you can find us on twitter, @thedanishdebate, or instagram, @the_danish_debate

Denmark has moved to the left. With a turnout of 84.6 percent, the left wing won a large majority in the Danish parliament on Wednesday’s general election. The next prime minister is likely to be Mette Frederiksen, leader of the Social Democrats, who, with the support of 91 MPs, holds a 2 seat majority.

Lars Løkke Rasmussen, leader of the Liberal Party (Venstre) only has the support of 75 MPs, and has stepped down as PM to allow Frederiksen to try and form a government. But the drama is only just beginning. Forming a government with her three allies on the left is going to be a challenge. And just because the right wing lost power, it doesn’t mean they don’t see the election as a victory, of sorts.

I’ve absorbed all the news and analysis I can find after letting the dust settle. And I’ve whittled it down to four major headlines.

1. If you can’t beat them, join them
2. The left is split on immigration and economic policy
3. The Danish People’s Party are decimated
4. The right wing lost, but stand strengthened
5. A record number of votes were lost

To read the full article with GRAPHICS, click here, or follow this link: https://www.thedanishdebate.mothertongue.dk/home/episode-8-the-left-win-but-remain-deeply-divided

So what's next? Negotiations could take a few weeks, and in the meantime, there will be plenty of politics to discuss. How will the Left align on immigration? How will they raise money for their policies? And will voters be prepared to pay to realise their green vision?

This coming weekend I head to the political festival Folkemødet where I will be speaking to as many politicians, commentators and ordinary people that I can.

/Contact and feedback/

Please get in touch with feedback or ideas for future episodes. Are there any topics or issues in Danish society you want covering?

Email me: [email protected]

Otherwise you can find us on twitter, @thedanishdebate, or instagram, @the_danish_debate

Today is election day, and Danes finally head to the polls after four weeks of campaigning. But what have we learned so far? And while the polls point at a left wing victory, do we really have any idea what sort of government we will get?

We speak to Martin Krasnik, editor-in-chief of conservative leaning Weekendavisen about why retirement and immigration are always the key issues in Danish elections, why no party has talked about fixing a tax authority that is riddled with scandal, and why it was right to call Rasmus Paludan a Nazi.

/Contact and feedback/

Please get in touch with feedback or ideas for future episodes. Are there any topics or issues in Danish society you want covering?

Email me: [email protected]

Otherwise you can find us on twitter, @thedanishdebate, or instagram, @the_danish_debate

We take a quick look at the results of the European Parliament elections and discuss the winners, the losers, and the candidate who, despite winning one of Denmark’s coveted 14 seats, decided he never really wanted the job in the first place.  🤷🏻‍♂️

And we speak to Karina Kosiara-Pedersen, an Associate Professor at the Department of Political science at the university of Copenhagen about the lay of the land with just one week to go before the general election. 

/Contact and feedback/

Please get in touch with feedback or ideas for future episodes. Are there any topics or issues in Danish society you want covering?

Email me: [email protected]

Otherwise you can find us on twitter, @thedanishdebate, or instagram, @the_danish_debate

Sound by Mads Jaeger.

Rasmus Munch Søndergaard from the Danish People's Party explains the party's views on Europe, especially on the need for strong outer borders.

This is the third episode on the EU Election. In the previous episode I spoke to Peter Laugesen, a journalist and co-founder the project Our Europe, who shared his unique insights into the state of Europe, the reality of life for young people across continent, and why far-right groups that target the young should be listened to.

In the first EU Election episode, we set the scene with Maja Kluger Dionigi, a senior researcher at the pro-EU think tank Think Europe.

/Contact and feedback/

Please get in touch with feedback or ideas for future episodes. Are there any topics or issues in Danish society you want covering?

Email me: [email protected]

Otherwise you can find us on twitter, @thedanishdebate, or instagram, @the_danish_debate

This is the second of three episodes on the EU ahead of the European Parliament elections on Sunday, May 25. In it, we speak to Peter Laugesen, a journalist and co-founder the project Our Europe. He and his wife Elena Maria Askløf have spent five years traveling Europe together to talk to young people about their dreams and insecurities. He shares his unique insights into the state of Europe, the reality of life for young people across continent, and why far-right groups that target the young should be listened to.

In the previous episode we set the scene with Maja Kluger Dionigi, a senior researcher at the pro-EU think tank Think Europe. She helps us understand how the European Parliament works, and what the big issues are heading into the election. 

In the next episode it's the turn of Rasmus Munch Søndergaard, a member of the Danish Peoples Party who warns that the biggest threat to peace on the continent is a borderless Europe.

In the first of three episodes on the EU ahead of the European Parliament elections on Sunday, we set the scene with Maja Kluger Dionigi, a senior researcher at the pro-EU think tank Think Europe. She helps us understand who the European Parliament works, what the big issues are heading into the election – and why Danish welfare was built on EU rules

Tomorrow I speak to Peter Laugesen, a journalist and co-founder of Our Europe. Together with his wife Elena Maria Askløf, he has spent five years traveling Europe to talk to young people about their dreams and insecurities. 

On Sunday, its the turn of Rasmus Munch Soendergaard, a member of the Danish Peoples Party who warns that a borderless Europe is the biggest threat to peace on the continent. 

Danes are worried about the climate. In a poll by Kantar Gallup, 57 percent of Danes responded that the environment is a higher priority to them than immigration. Only 35 percent stated the reverse was the case. So it's not a surprise that parties across the political spectrum have launched climate policies to reduce Denmark's emissions through increased investment in renewable energy and green transport.

But do these policies go far enough? Or are they simply playing up to Denmark's growing climate anxiety?

We speak to Rasmus Nordqvist, climate spokesperson for Denmark's 'greenest' party The Alternative, on what it's actually going to take to bring down emissions. And activist Kirsten Kværnø from Extinction Rebellion explains why popular movements and civil disobedience are central to generating public support for radical climate policies.

But first we start with Morten Jastrup, a managing partner at consultancy Nordic Sustainability. Jastrup has more than 20 years experience advancing sustainable business, and has a deep understanding of what will – and will not – work to address the 'climate emergency' are being warned of.

A successful talk radio station is set to close after the government stipulated that 70 percent of the editorial staff has to relocate 110 kilometres from Copenhagen. The same government that has moved more than 4,000 state jobs out of the capital at a cost of 550 million kroner.

So are too many state jobs and cultural institutions concentrated in the capital? Or are the policies a classic example of populism – sowing divisions between an imagined urban elite, and authentic rural population.

We explore these questions with Tinne Hjersing Knudsen, a radio host at Radio24Syv, as well as writer and veteran radio producer Egon Clausen.

A lot has happened since Danes last went to the polls four years ago. At the 2015 election the left wing Social Democrats lost power to the right wing Liberal Party, which positioned itself as hard on immigration and kind to business. But if the policies have been popular, why do most polls predict that the left wing will regain power this summer?

Ahead of the general election on June 5, The Danish Debate will survey Denmark's political landscape. In the first episode, Kristian Madsen from Politiken newspaper offers his insight on the major issues and political intrigues ahead of this summer's general election in Denmark. Kristian Madsen was interviewed before the election date as announced.

The Danish Debate is a Mothertongue Media production.

Logo and identity by Nick Garner.