Helle unfriended

A leader falls abruptly from grace

WHEN Helle Thorning-Schmidt addressed the European Parliament on July 3rd to mark the end of Denmark’s six-month stint in the European Union’s presidency, her words fell on many empty seats. [...]
The Danish prime minister’s words to the press betrayed a little pique. “Why is everybody so keen to play down the results of the last six months?” she demanded. She had in mind deals on growth, jobs, energy efficiency and patents. Given the low expectations of her presidency, such umbrage is understandable.  [...]
Yet however unappreciated Ms Thorning-Schmidt feels in Europe, her real troubles are at home. A YouGov opinion poll for metroXpress newspaper gives her Social Democrats their lowest rating in over a century: 16.1%, a plunge from the 24.8% they took last September. [...]
Denmark is in better shape than the rest of the EU. Unemployment is officially 6.2%, against a euro-zone average of 11.1%; GDP edged out of a technical recession with a 0.4% jump in the first quarter. [...]
The budget deficit of 1.8% of GDP also compares favourably with much of Europe, but Denmark’s public spending (the highest in the EU as a share of GDP) must be cut because of demographic change. The government and opposition agree that the welfare state needs tweaking. Ms Thorning-Schmidt has set about reform with zeal. But she has alienated a good chunk of her supporters by agreeing on a tax package with the centre-right.
This will reduce the tax burden on average earners by raising the threshold for the top tax bracket; increase tax credits for those with jobs; and cut corporate taxes. These measures are to be paid for in part by reducing old-age pensions and unemployment benefits. [...]
The jilted left has now denounced the government. If Ms Thorning-Schmidt expects their votes to keep her in power, she will have to come up with some rewards, say the leftists. With a sense of betrayal also spreading among her own voters, the prime minister may struggle merely to complete the full four years of her term.

Photo and text from The Economist

Denmark Reshapes Its Immigration Policies

When the Liberal-Conservative coalition led by Lars Løkke Rasmussen came to power in Denmark in 2001, it relied on support from the right-wing and staunchly anti-immigrant Danish People's Party [Danske Folkeparty – DF]. As a result of that union, Denmark passed some of the strictest immigration and asylum laws in Europe. Among other things, its policies restricted benefits to immigrants, limited their ability to work and required Danes marrying a foreigner to post an $11,600 bond. The number of asylum seekers and relatives of immigrants applying for entry into the country dropped by nearly 70% over nine years, and the DPP moved closer to its goal: a complete end to immigration from non-Western countries. [...]

The government's common policy outlines a number of concrete changes. They include automatic citizenship for children born and raised in Denmark, regardless of their parents' citizenship; equal welfare rights for immigrants and Danes; vast reductions in application fees and cash securities; expanded work benefits for asylum seekers; and the possibility of dual citizenship, which will ease the naturalization process. The coalition also plans to ease family reunification rules, which have seen 800 children denied residency permits since 2005, frequently leading to the separation of children and their parents.


Read more at Time with interesting comments

Helle Thorning-Schmidt to be Danish PM

Denmark's centre-left has won the country's general election, ending nearly a decade in opposition.
With all votes counted, the bloc led by Social Democrat leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt had won a narrow majority in parliament.
She is set to become Denmark's first woman prime minister. Incumbent Lars Lokke Rasmussen has admitted defeat.
Ms Thorning-Schmidt had campaigned on a platform of tax rises and increased public spending.
She also promised to roll back tough immigration laws proposed by a junior partner of the current coalition.
The centre-left bloc won 89 seats in Denmark's 179-seat parliament against 86 for the centre-right. Turnout was high at 87.7%.

The country has seen its worst economic downturn since World War II. Although Denmark is a member of the EU, it has chosen not to adopt the euro.

Mr Rasmussen's liberal-conservative alliance has long relied on the anti-immigrant People's Party (DPP) to push legislation through parliament.
The recent decision of Denmark, a Schengen state, to reimpose border controls came after pressure from the DPP, the third-biggest party in parliament.
However, the main issue of the election has been the health of the national finances.
Ms Thorning-Schmidt campaigned on a platform of tax rises and increased public spending.
The economic crisis has turned Denmark's healthy surpluses into deficits, estimated to climb to 4.6% of GDP next year.
Local banks have also been struggling, with nine taken over by the state since the start of the crisis in 2008.
Ms Thorning-Schmidt has accused Mr Rasmussen of failing to spur growth and allowing the deficit to grow.
She advocates increased government spending, along with an unusual plan to make everyone work 12 minutes more per day.
An extra hour of productivity each week, the Social Democrats argue, would help kick-start growth.

In full at BBC

Right-Wing Populists Face Test in Denmark

A right-wing populist party, one of Europe's most influential, will face a test of voter sentiment at the ballot box. The Danish People's Party [DF] has been instrumental in tightening at least 20 laws pertaining to immigration and migration.

The path to the right-wing outsiders leads straight through the hallowed halls of Christiansborg Palace, right on past the red and white national flag, the "Danebrog," as well as the portrait gallery of past politicians and finally right under the heavy chandeliers in the country's political control center. This, it seems, is the place where the Danish People's Party feels most at home.

'We Are Proud of Our Policies'
Messerschmidt is a member of the European Parliament and one of the party's strategic thinkers. He combats the political stigma of being defined as right-wing or xenophobic. "We are conservative," he says. "We are the only party that stands for national identity and tradition."
Messerschmidt speaks quickly, as if he wants to forestall any objections. "We are proud of our policies, and there is no greater success than having your policies get adopted by others," the alert young politician says. And that, he says, is why he believes in his party's re-election prospects.
For weeks now, however, Social Democratic challenger Helle Thorning-Schmidt, 44, with her three-partner, left of center "Red Block" has been two to four percentage points ahead of the "Blue Block" comprising of the Liberal party, the conservatives and the right-wing populists.
For 10 years now, the People's Party has backed the minority government in Copenhagen -- causing a sustained shift in the country's political climate. So far, the nationalists have succeeded in pushing through legislation to tighten at least 20 laws pertaining to immigrants and asylum seekers. Traditionally liberal Denmark is now the country with the most conservative legislation for foreigners in Europe -- an achievement that makes the People's Party proud.

A Secret Network of Extremists
The "secret lodge" with the name ORG, has formed the "backbone of the extreme right in Denmark" for more than 20 years, the journalists' initiative Redox concluded, reporting that the group was linked to racist associations, extremist football fans and neo-Nazis.
The secret network also reportedly conducts ceremonies reminiscent of the Ku Klux Klan and espouses its teachings of a "utopia of an ethnically homogenous society" at a private school attended by around 200 pupils. It also operates martial arts and shooting clubs and maintains a black list of politicians deemed to be "traitors to their country."

Over the years, the Denmark's right-wing populists have developed a steady base -- one that is easily reached with messages that are skeptical of the EU or anti-immigrant.
In Denmark, the Social Democrats believe there will be a "mood for change" in the country. Many Danes have grown tired of the country's right-wing image in the eyes of their European neighbors. That's a sentiment the Social Democratic challenger Thorning-Schmidt has sought to channel -- along with concerns about the economic crisis.
The country has seen an estimated 175,000 jobs lost in the crisis, it will have a budget shortfall of 85 billion crowns next year and a budget deficit of 4.6 percent instead of the budget surplus seen in 2008.
"After 10 years with a liberal-conservative government, Denmark is at a standstill," says Thorning-Schmidt. Now she only needs to convince the voters of that.

More at Der Spiegel

Denmark election tipped to oust rightwing government

Helle Thorning-Schmidt expected to lead centre-left coalition into power and become country's first female prime minister.

Ten years of rightwing rule that have turned Denmark into the most closed country in Europe for immigrants looks likely to end this week, with a Social Democrat tipped to become the Danes' first female prime minister.
Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the daughter-in-law of Neil and Glenys Kinnock, looks likely to head a new centre-left coalition, replacing the Liberal leader, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, whose minority government has been propped up for the past decade by the far-right anti-immigrant and europhobic Danish People's party (DF).
The Social Democrats are struggling in the opinion polls and may lose votes and seats in the 179-seat parliament in Copenhagen, but her four-party "red" coalition is expected to nudge ahead of the coalescing liberals and conservatives. The latest polls before Thursday's general election give the centre-left a margin of victory of between three and 10 seats.
A victory for the centre-left would wrest the kingmaker status from the DF, which has leveraged its support for the current government to drive legislation on immigration and asylum.

If Thorning-Schmidt fails to secure the Danish premiership on Thursday, her six-year spell as Social Democrat leader may be over.

It is unclear whether the allegations will have any impact on Thursday's election. Danes are eager voters, with turnouts of up to 90%. The economy will be the key issue.
In a country boasting some of the highest living standards in the world, the economy is stagnant, the budget deficit is set to soar to almost 5% this year and job losses have been high. Thorning-Schmidt has promised a new era of public investment in welfare, education and infrastructure. The government is preaching austerity and public spending cuts, the general trend across a Europe dominated by the centre-right.

More at The Guardian