The Copenhagen Post - June 8-14

Fake boob contest has mysterious end

Cannabis trade is booming but rife with intimidation

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8 - 14 June 2012 | Vol 15 Issue 23

Ukraine is ready – are you?

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Denmark’s only English-language newspaper | cphpost.dk ILLUSTRATION BY MAGNUS BARKMAN PETERSEN

NEWS

King Frederik VII signed it into law in 1849, but now the constitution is in need of change, some MPs say

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OPINION

A swift kick in the pants That’s what our economy needs, argues the editor-in-chief of financial weekly Økonomisk Ugebrev

8 COMMUNITY

Were you at Distortion? Can you even remember? Check our page of photos to see if we saw you there

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CULTURE

EURO 2012 PREVIEW:

10-11, 14

WHERE TO WATCH:

G1-G3

Terror suspects guilty of planned Jyllands-Posten attack RAY WEAVER

Mads the cannibal Following his best actor win at Cannes, Mads Mikkelsen wins the lead in coming TV series ‘Hannibal’

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Four terrorists sentenced to 12 years in prison for plotting strike against newspaper office

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JURY in Glostrup ruled on Monday that the four men charged with terrorism for planning an assault on the Copenhagen offices of Jyllands-Posten newspaper are guilty.

Found guilty were Swedish citizens Munir Awad, Omar Abdalla Aboelazm and Sahbi Ben Mohamed Zalouti, and Mounir Ben Mohamed Dhahri, a Tunisian national. All four were arrested in December 2010 after joint surveillance by Danish and Swedish security services uncovered the plot in which the

men vowed to “kill as many people as possible” during a planned attack on the 2010 Årets Fund, a high-profile sports awards ceremony that is held in the Jyllands-Posten building. Jyllands-Posten has been the target of Islamic-inspired terror ever since it published cartoons of the prophet Mohammed in 2005, drawing the ire of Muslims around the world.

Awad, Aboelazm and Dhahri were arrested at a flat in the Copenhagen suburb of Herlev on 29 December 2010.

They had travelled to Denmark by car the night before. Zalouti was arrested at his apartment in Stockholm and later extradited to Denmark.

Judge Katrine Eriksen said that the evidence revealed that the men were a terrorist cell and that communications, which had been intercepted by both PET

and the Swedish security police Säpo, revealed that the men intended to attack the newspaper’s offices. She also mentioned the conflicting reasons the men had given during the trial as to why they were in Copenhagen when they were arrested.

One man had said that the trip was planned to coincide with New Year’s Eve so that the suspects could enjoy what he called Copenhagen’s ‘famous’ year-end fireworks. But, earlier in the trial, the men had said that they had only been in Copenhagen to grab a bite to eat.

“We only came to Copenhagen because Mounir Dhahri wanted a Big Mac from McDonalds,” said Zalouti.

When the group was arrested, they had an assault rifle, ammunition, a silencer and plastic strips, which investigators initially believed were to be used

in the New Year’s Day attack.

The four men, who had been charged with one count of terror crimes and two counts of violating weapons laws, showed no emotion when the verdict was read.

All four had adamantly denied the terrorism charge, but Dhahri pleaded guilty to arms possession.

The court sentenced each of the men to 12 years in prison for their part in the plot. The prosecution had asked for a 16year penalty, citing the preparations the men had made and pointing out that they were just hours away from making their attack when they were stopped by police. The court decided that there was not a compelling reason to give the four a harsher penalty than had been doled out in previous terrorism cases.

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Week in review

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

8 - 14 June 2012 Scanpix/Jens Nørgaard Larsen

The mermaid gets a brother

THE WEEK’S MOST READ STORIES AT CPHPOST.DK Sex video stuns graduation ceremony Aid projects shut down after reports of fraud Hillary Clinton’s busy day in Copenhagen Well-known American troubadour missing in Copenhagen The Lynch Report | How to piss off a Dane (not)

FROM OUR ARCHIVES TEN YEARS AGO. A report in British newspaper The Guardian accuses Denmark of ‘flirting with fascism’.

FIVE YEARS AGO. Parliament passes its much-discussed smoking law, but the battle over the right to light up rages on.

ONE YEAR AGO. The Danish Cancer Society advises the public not to panic about a warning that mobile phones are possibly carcinogenic.

Denmark’s most iconic sculpture got a male counterpart on Saturday, when the sculpture ‘HAN’ was revealed in Helsingør. The sculpture, made by the Danish-Norwegian art duo Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, strikes a pose similar to that of the Little Mermaid as he overlooks the strait.

ister, Bjarne Corydon (Socialdemokraterne, pictured), hailed the agreement as a significant step forward for the country’s way out of the economic crisis. The deal, which is estimated to spur 15-20 billion kroner of investments and generate 7,500 jobs, was reached with broad political agreement in Christiansborg on Monday.

Denmark’s only English-language newspaper Since 1998, The Copenhagen Post has been Denmark’s leading source for news in English. As the voice of the international community, we provide coverage for the thousands of foreigners making their home in Denmark.

Additionally, our English language medium helps to bring Denmark’s top stories to a global audience.

In addition to publishing the only regularly printed English-language newspaper in the country, we provide up-to-date news on our website and deliver news to national and international organisations. The Copenhagen Post is also a leading provider of non-news services to the private and public sectors, offering writing, translation, editing, production and delivery services.

Visit us online at www.cphpost.dk

Bad boss

Talk about the boss from hell. Four unions have written formal complaints to the City Council about the behaviour of Lene Sillasen, the head of the council’s health and wellness department, who is accused of causing employees to cry, freezing them out of meetings, talking down to them in front of their

President and Publisher Ejvind Sandal Chief Executive Jesper Nymark Editor-in-Chief Kevin McGwin Managing Editor Ben Hamilton News Editor Justin Cremer Journalists Peter Stanners, Ray Weaver & Christian Wenande

colleagues and generally causing “psychological terror”, as one former employee described it to Politiken newspaper. An investigation is underway, with a conclusion expected in the autumn.

In the meantime, deputy mayor Ninna Thomsen (SF) has not suspended Sillasen from her job – a decision that has been criticised.

Editorial offices: Slagtehusgade 4 – 6 DK 1715 Copenhagen V Telephone: 3336 3300 Fax: 3393 1313 www.cphpost.dk News Desk news@cphpost.dk 3336 4243 The CPH Post welcomes outside articles and letters to the editor.

Letters and comments can be left on our website or at: comments@cphpost.dk

Colourbox

The nation’s businesses can invest in technology and equipment and receive a break from the tax man, thanks to a political agreement reached this week in parliament. Effective May 30 and valid until the end of 2013, companies can write off 1.15 kroner for every krone they invest in their business. The finance min-

Colourbox

Scanpix/Jens Nørgaard Larsen

Deal struck

CORRECTION We misidentified the gender of Fikadu Reta in our story about Ethiopian books on page 13.

Fikadu is, and always has been, a man.

By design

New fertility legislation allows parents using artificial insemination to add items like education and sporting achievements to their donor wish list, leading some to decry a new wave of ‘designer babies’. Over half of the women artificially inseminated at one sperm bank last year chose sperm from donors with an

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extended profile. Jacob Birkler of ethics group Det Etiske Råd said that such children will be under added pressure to achieve later in life. Health Minister Astrid Krag (SF), however, disagreed: “They are not ‘designer children’ because one knows the father’s characteristics. Normal births happen the same way.”

Layout and design Justin Cremer Aviaja Bebe Nielsen Logo by Rasmus Koch

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News

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

8 - 14 June 2012

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radical asylum campaigning group called Asylret (The Right to Asylum) has taken complete control of an ongoing campaign being waged by a group of Iranian asylum seekers, Jyllands-Posten newspaper revealed today.

According to the newspaper, the eleven Iranian asylum seekers currently protesting outside parliament have the support of Asylret, while another group, 12 Iranians who are protesting outside Sandholm Asylum Centre, do not.

According to the spokesperson for the Sandholm group, they wanted the help of Asylret but turned it down after being given an ultimatum.

“Asylret said: ‘Okay, but we have to be in charge of everything,’” spokesperson Mehdi Ghasghezadeh told JyllandsPosten. “We wanted to be in charge and speak our case.”

Initial reports suggested that the group outside parliament were all on hunger strike after having had their asylum cases rejected. Jyllands-Posten now reports, however, that four have given up their hunger strikes, two are still awaiting the outcome of their asylum cases and another two are having their asylum cases processed in Germany.

The Iranians outside parliament have not had an easy time with their protest.

After first moving into Stefan’s Church on May 23, they were asked to leave by the church council less than a week later.

Last Tuesday, they then moved into unoccupied rooms in the political community centre Demokratihuset, though they did not last long before the building’s owner, the City Council, told them the rooms were not suitable for living in and asked them to leave.

Officially the council accused the Iranians of trespassing. The police were called, but the Iranians left on Saturday before the noon deadline, taking taxis to outside Christiansborg, where they have continued their protest since.

But they had not been outside parliament long on Saturday before they were assaulted by a far-right skinhead. Video shot by TV2 News showed a man in a burgundy bomber jacket and a shaved head fighting with some of the protesters before walking away and picking up

Scanpix/JTorkil Adsersen

The Danish Refugee Council has voiced concern over the control that a proasylum organisation has over eleven Iranians protesting outside parliament

Mette Frederiksen called current job activation rules a “system from hell”

Minister: job activation a waste of time Ray Weaver Employment minister calls for an end to “senseless activation”

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The Iranian asylum seekers have held their protests at locations throughout Copenhagen; they are currently at Christiansborg TV2 News

Peter Stanners

Scanpix/Niels Ahlmann Olesen

Protesting asylum seekers have professional support

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A screenshot from a TV2 News video shows a skinhead threatening the asylum seekers with a cobblestone

a cobblestone with which he threatened the group. TV2 News also reported that the man shouted Nazi slogans.

Far-right groups have been increasing their anti-Islamic rhetoric in recent months, as was witnessed by the attempt by the English Defence League to start a pan-European anti-Islamic movement this March in Aarhus. The Iranians are all Christians, however, and fear religious persecution from the Islamic regime should they return.

A spokesperson for Asylret, the organisation supporting the Iranians outside Christiansborg, explained that their protest was more than simply an attempt to draw attention to the failed

asylum cases of some of the protesters.

“It is a protest against the politicians in Iran,” Said Parvin told JyllandsPosten. “We are here because of the terrible conditions in Iran created by the clerical rule. That is why we are here in Denmark. We want Iran to be politically and economically boycotted.”

He added: “Our second goal is that Denmark complies with the Refugee Convention from 1951, and our third is that there is more democracy in the Refugee Appeals Board.”

The Refugee Appeals Board is the quasi-judicial organisation that considers the appeals of asylum seekers who have had their claims rejected by the Immigration Services.

The control that Parvin and Asylret are maintaining over the hunger strikers has drawn concern from the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), which was called in by Stefan’s Church to offer assistance while the asylum seekers were seeking refuge there.

The Iranians refused to speak to the DRC without the presence of representatives from Asylret, however, much to the disappointment of the DRC’s general secretary, Andreas Kamm.

“We have helped lots of people,” he

told Jyllands-Posten. “For example, we have stopped repatriations to Greece.

But we offer legal help and do not encourage people to hunger strike.”

Kamm added that the Iranians still needed legal help and expressed bewilderment at the actions taken by the non-rejected Iranians on hunger strike.

“It’s difficult to understand why they have felt pressured to hunger strike,” he said.

Parvin, however, denied that he encouraged the Iranians to take up their hunger strike. Parvin refers to himself as a communist, and on Asylret’s website it says its members are humanists and left-wing activists.

Asylum seekers across Denmark started hunger striking several weeks ago. At its peak, about 80 asylum seekers were on hunger strike, but according to Jyllands-Posten between 50 and 60 have since stopped. Additionally, the group at Sandholm indicated on Tuesday that they would be willing to call off the hunger strike altogether if they could secure a meeting with Endedslisten’s Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen.

Schmidt-Nielsen agreed to the meeting, which may take place as early as this week, but cautioned she couldn’t guarantee their asylum.

he employment minister, Mette Frederiksen (Socialdemokraterne), is calling for an end to council-run job activation schemes in which the unemployed are forced to attend remedial job-seeking courses in exchange for their unemployment benefits.

Frederiksen told Jyllands-Posten newspaper that the current plan is a “system from hell” that forces some people to attend the exact same job search course as many as five times.

“High quality job search courses offering guidance on how to secure a job are fine,” Frederiksen told JyllandsPosten. “But taking the same course five times is a waste of people’s time and taxpayer’s money.”

Frederiksen said her ministry will propose an amendment to the current law that requires the unemployed to show up at job centres and take every course that the councils say they must attend. If the amendment is adopted, job seekers will have the right to refuse a job search course if they have already attended one.

“The way the law is written now, people waste time attending a course they have already been to, when they could be doing something more productive,” said Frederiksen.

The minister said that the unemployed would be better served by taking skills-specific courses or upgrading their education and training. If the amendment is passed, it will apply to everyone regardless of age. Frederiksen didn’t give a timeframe for the changes.

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News

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

8 - 14 June 2012

Attempts to root out gangs are hampered due to international obligations to cannabis control, an expert argues

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n 2003, the former government laid out a plan to ‘normalise’ Christiania and turn the old military barracks – the site of a thriving squatters’ community and cannabis market since the 1970s – into a conventional and attractive part of the city.

Almost a decade later, however, police estimate that the trade in cannabis is as strong as it was before extensive police raids in 2004 that were intended to clear out the drug dealers.

“The cannabis trade today is just as open as it was in 2004 and up on the same level. We believe that one billion kroner is sold every year,” Lau Thygesen, vice police inspector and head of the Copenhagen Police’s department for organised crime, told Berlingske newspaper.

The news comes as a blow to the City Council whose request to experiment with the decriminalisation of cannabis was turned down by the Justice Ministry in May. One of the council’s main arguments was that legalising cannabis would steal the trade from criminal gangs who control the sale of cannabis in the city.

While gangs such as the Hells Angels have always had a presence in Christiania, residents are now concerned over their level of power since the recent return of the cannabis trade to pre-2004 levels.

Those who spoke to The Copenhagen Post explained that while the trade might have returned, the atmosphere is quite different from the days before the 2004 invasion by police, with greater levels of violence and intimidation.

“They are much rougher now than the older guys,” one long-time cannabis user, Søren Østergaard (not his real name), told The Copenhagen Post. “The older guys are now sidelined and the new guys from the gangs have now taken over.”

Pohl Cohrt from Christianshavn’s local committee agreed

Colourbox/Kristoffer Børsting

Peter Stanners

Screenshot: Politiken

Christiania’s resurgent pot trade marred by intimidation

In a screen grab from a video the Keller family provided to Politiken, ‘Amy’ is shown being forced into a vehicle against her will by council employees

The once-common sight of police in Christiania is now a rarity

with this assessment.

“You used to be able to approach the old drug dealers and talk to them. But the new ones out there aren’t listening,” Cohrt told The Copenhagen Post. “The problem of Pusher Street [where the cannabis is sold] is far bigger than the Christianites can handle. It is run through violence and [the gangs] even kill people every now and then.”

Cohrt is a staunch proponent of legalising the sale of cannabis and sees it as the only solution to extracting the criminals who are becoming ever more deeply embedded in Christiania.

“If we legalised it, the gangsters would soon be out of business because they wouldn’t be able to compete.”

The City Council agrees and on Tuesday evening the city’s deputy mayor for social affairs, Mikkel Warming (Enhedslisten), appealed to the Ministry of Justice to rethink its position.

“Every year one or two billion kroner is spent on cannabis in Copenhagen,” Warming wrote on his Facebook page. “Instead of pouring the money into the pockets of the [bikers] and the gangs, the justice minister should dare to rethink and let us decriminalise [cannabis] in Copenhagen.”

While Warming is supported

by Copenhagen’s mayor, Frank Jensen (Socialdemokraterne), support for the initiative does not extend into the national branch of Jensen’s party, however.

Justice Minister Morten Bødskov, who turned down the legalisation proposal, is also a member of Socialdemokraterne.

According to Kim Moeller, an assistant professor at the Centre for Alcohol and Drug

Research at Aarhus University, the politics of international drug policy probably influenced the government’s refusal.

“In Copenhagen, they are addressing some very concrete problems on the street level that could potentially be alleviated by implementing this semi-legal coffee shop model,” Moeller told The Copenhagen Post. “On the national level, however, the politicians have to consider the uniformity of the drug control system and the fact that we have signed these UN treaties that obligate us to criminalise the sale, though not necessarily the possession, of cannabis.”

Moeller argues that Denmark would be making an unpopular move in the eyes of the international community if the city did choose to decriminalise the sale of cannabis – a move they may not be prepared to take.

Moeller goes on to argue that decriminalisation may not even resolve the issues of crime associated with the cannabis trade.

“The Netherlands [which has decriminalised the sale of cannabis] still has a back-door problem because the coffee shops are being supplied by criminals,” he said. “So it’s a matter of prioritising what sorts of problems you want associated with the cannabis trade.”

Flaws in the city’s proposal could also have affected the government’s decision not to allow cannabis legalisation, according to Moeller. He found that the city’s expected profits of roughly 410 million kroner were twice the realistic estimate, while its effects on Denmark’s obligations to UN drug treaties were also not clarified.

Næstved Council accused of using violence against child Ray Weaver Child advocates say council went too far when it forcibly removed a girl from a foster home

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he video is tough to look at. A young girl fights and kicks while two adults, a man and a woman, forcibly remove her from a home while she screams and cries in fear. Two police officers stand and watch as the drama unfolds. The video (see it at bit.ly/amyvideo) and a series of articles in Politiken newspaper have exposed the plight of ‘Amy’, who was forcibly removed from the foster home where she had been living and sent to an institutional home in Næstved. Many are saying that the child’s civil rights have been violated.

Børns Vilkår, a child service organisation, has reported Næstved Council to the police, accusing it of violence against Amy. “We do not believe that the council has the legal right to forcibly remove Amy,” Børns Vilkår’s chairperson Peter Albæk told Politiken. “She had already been forcibly removed from one home, and now they have taken her from another.”

In 2009, Amy was adopted by a Danish family from her birthplace in Ethiopia. She was nine years old at the time – on paper, at least, though later physical exams indicated her real age might have been a few years older.

However, by 2011, the situ-

ation with Amy’s adoptive family had deteriorated and there were allegations of physical abuse.

Amy was then removed from the adoptive family’s home and placed in a temporary foster home with Hanne and Ole Keller. The Kellers act as a so-called ‘acute family’, taking in children who are in critical situations.

Albæk said the decision to remove Amy from the Keller home has left the child isolated from the few adults that she trusts.

Although Amy had said numerous times that she wanted to stay with the Kellers, the council decided that she should be placed in an institutional residence with professional educators.

The video shows what happened in March when representatives from the council came to remove Amy from the foster home.

The Kellers told Politiken that they had repeatedly called the council to ask them to help explain to Amy why she would have to live elsewhere when she wanted to stay with them.

“I had to tell her I did not know why she had to leave because no-one ever gave me an explanation,” Hanne Keller told Politiken. Keller said that Amy had endured traumatic events while in an Ethiopian orphanage and had become attached to the foster family.

The council says that it acted properly and in turn reported the Kellers to the police, saying that their behaviour was at least in part responsible for any trauma Amy experienced. The family may also face legal trou-

ble for filming the removal and providing it to the media.

“We are obviously concerned that Børns Vilkår has reported us to the police,” Næstved Council’s director of child and culture affairs, Per B Christensen, told Politiken. “The police were present when the child was removed, and I believe that the council was within its rights and used only the amount of force that was necessary.”

He added that if the Kellers had worked with the council, it would not have been necessary to use force to remove Amy. “We regret that moving Amy was so unpleasant, but there were adults, including the foster family, who should have taken more responsibility,” Christensen told Politiken.

Lisbeth Zornig, the head of Børnerådet, a children’s rights group, said that the type of action taken with Amy should only be used in the most serious situations.

Law professor Kirsten Ketscher from the University of Copenhagen told Politiken – without knowing the details of the case – that Næstved Council may have overstepped its bounds.

“You must not use physical violence against children. You must have a legal basis to exercise force against other people – including children,” said Ketscher.

The social and integration minister, Karen Haekkerup (Socialdemokraterne), told Politiken that she wants an investigation into the actions taken by Næstved Council.

Online this week Supreme Court: Deportee’s freedom of movement violated

Danish woman assaulted in Tahrir Square

Hillary Clinton’s busy day in Copenhagen

The Supreme Court ruled last week that the demands placed on an Iranian man by the Immigration Services, following his criminal conviction and sentence to deportation, broke his right to free movement under the European Convention on Human Rights. Under a regimen called tålt ophold, 41-year-old Elias

The Foreign Ministry has confirmed that a Danish woman was assaulted in Tahrir Square in Egypt during the turmoil following the guilty verdict against former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on Saturday. The story came to light over the weekend when American photojournalist Cliff Cheney reported via Twit-

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton was in Copenhagen last week on Thursday to meet with her Danish counterpart, Villy Søvndal (SF), and the prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt (S), as well as to participate in the kick-off event for Green Partner-

Karkavandi was forced to live around the clock at Sandholm Asylum Centre and report to the police three times a week. Karkavandi argued that this violated his rights to life and liberty, freedom from discrimination and the right to free movement. The Supreme Court ruled against the first two claims, but in favour of the third.

ter that he had seen a group of people surround and attack a Danish journalist in a building on Tahrir Square. The Foreign Ministry would neither confirm nor deny that the woman is a journalist. They would only say that a Danish citizen had contacted the Danish embassy in Cairo for assistance.

ships for Growth, an initiative to promote green technology. After a brief meeting with Queen Margrethe at Amalienborg Palace, which she travelled to on a canal boat, Clinton engaged in an interview with TV2 News in front of a crowd of students.

Read the full stories at cphpost.dk

news

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

8 - 14 June 2012

Christian Wenande Opposition adamant that the founding document should remain unchanged, save one point

Colourbox

Changes to constitution considered

Better teachers will improve our schools, parliament agrees Christian Wenande The government and opposition have agreed to improve the way teachers are educated in a bid to raise the level at schools

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hile many Danes were off work on Tuesday due to Constitution Day (Grundlovsdag), the 163-yearold document has come under increasing fire as of late.

The current government is looking to modernise the constitution, which dates back to 1849 and is viewed by many as being obsolete, but the opposition rejects the idea of altering the founding pillar of democracy.

The incumbent government, led by Socialdemokraterne (S), the Socialistisk Folkeparti (SF) and Radikale (R), is investigating the possibility of setting up a commission to examine updating the constitution so that it reflects the realities of current society.

Zenia Stampe, R’s constitutional spokeswoman, indicated that the document was obsolete and needed a work-over.

“The more time that passes before we change the constitution, the more holy a document it becomes and the further it drifts from reality,” Stampe told Politiken newspaper. “We need to figure something out that we can all agree on, and something that is an improvement on the current edition.”

But the opposition is not interested in altering the founding document, with the exception of a change that would allow Danes living abroad to vote in parliamentary elections.

“Our position is that nothing at all should be changed,” V’s political spokesperson Kris-

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The Danish constitution dates to the time of King Frederik VII, who gave up his power as an absolute monarch when he signed it into law in 1849

It is politically a losing cause to try and change the constitution tian Jensen told Politiken newspaper. “But [the voting rights of Danes abroad] is a point where we believe there may be a problem to address.”

But even if the parliament agrees to establish a commission to look at the potential to change the constitution, it will still prove very difficult to accomplish.

“It is politically a losing cause to try and change the constitution, as seen in 2009 when changes to the succession of the throne were proposed,” Jes Fabricius Møller, a history profes-

sor at the University of Copenhagen, told Kristeligt Dagblad newspaper. “Even though it was a small detail, amazingly many people voted against it.”

Although the constitution has been revised five times, the last time being in 1953, two thirds of the document remains as originally written in 1849.

Critics argue that much of the content is outdated and unrepresentative of society today.

A commission consisting of parliament members will probably begin initial investigations into the issue sometime in the autumn.

Kristeligt Dagblad identified the five most problematic issues with the constitution: 1. Church: The relationship between church and state has never been properly defined.

2. Monarchy: Even though the monarchy maintains little power,

it is still referred to as one of the highest and most central entities in the constitution.

3. Sovereignty: According to a 1953 revision, Denmark can relinquish a portion of power to an international authority to a certain degree, but the degree lacks clear definition.

4. Obsolete: The constitution contains language that is obsolete and does not pertain to current society. Issues such as human rights are glaringly incomplete.

5. Difficult to change: Any change to the constitution requires a 40 percent majority from everyone entitled to vote and Danes are notorious ‘nay-sayers’ when it comes to referendums.

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n June 1, the Socialdemokraterne-RadikaleSocialistisk Folkeparti (SR-SF) government came to an agreement with opposition parties Venstre (V), Konservative (K) and Dansk Folkeparti (DF) to create a new, more attractive and vocationally-relevant education programme for teachers.

The move is an attempt to increase the quality of education at the nation’s public schools.

Students taking the teachers’ education programme will in the future face more stringent demands such as entry quotients, admission interviews and a more practically-orientated curriculum.

The education minister, Morten Østergaard (R), was pleased with the reform negotiations and said that the new education platform for potential teachers will attract better-suited students with a passion for teaching.

“One of the more central goals is that public school students must be engaged by teachers who possess a deep knowledge of the subject that they are teaching,” Østergaard said in a statement. “Teachers are a vital part of our children’s foundation, and we need to lift the level of the teachers’ education and thus our future teachers.”

Curricular settings were also addressed so that subjects such as Christianity, lifestyle education and citizenship will

become part of the teachers’ basic skill set.

Furthermore, the reform aims to make teachers better able to prepare students for participation in classes and instil the students with a sense of societal responsibility.

The agreement also focuses on strengthening the competencies of future teachers, such as leadership in the classroom, relationship proficiency, inclusion competency and the identification of social problems.

“If we are to successfully tackle the immense challenge of better inclusion in schools, then teachers must be better equipped to deal with students with special needs,” S’s science and education spokesperson, Kristen Brosbøl, told Folkeskolen.dk.

“The use of IT in the classroom can also help engage the students in new ways and will become an essential element in future teaching environments.”

However, not everyone was impressed with the new education platform. Anders Bonbo of the teachers’ association Danmarks Lærerforegning said the reform attempt was inadequate.

He pointed to the Finnish system as a clear upgrade to follow.

“It is disappointing. Politicians have so many demands and wishes for the Danish school system and here they have an opportunity to strengthen the entire foundation,” Bonbo told Folkeskolen.dk. “Instead, they weakly renovated the existing platform, using the elements already present. It doesn’t make any sense.”

The new teachers’ education programme will apply to students admitted for classes in the summer of 2013.

Extra billion kroner will beef up public transport with more trains René Strandbygaard

More trains, rather than lower fares, will probably be the result of the extra funds the state has to spend on public transport

T

he plan for how to spend the extra one billion kroner set aside for public transport will be announced before the summer holiday, metroXpress newspaper reported last week.

The extra money was the result of a deal made agreed upon by the government, support party Enhedslisten and opposition party Dansk Folkeparti as a compromise after the government’s proposed congestion charge was abandoned in February. ”We are not ready yet, but we are betting on being ready before the summer holiday,” Radikale’s traffic spokesperson, Andreas Steenberg, told metroXpress.

“DSB needs time to adjust their budget after the reduction in fares. But if we need more trains, then that needs to get going if it

Expanding public transport will lure more commuters, politicians hope

is to be ready by January 2013.”

Socialistisk Folkeparti’s traffic spokesperson, Anne Baastrup, told the newspaper that increasing capacity was a high priority that would probably lead to a doubling of the 45 double-decker regional trains currently in operation.

“What we are going for are bicycle super highways, more trains and electric trains all the way to Esbjerg by 2015, along

with more electric trains in general,” Baastrup said.

According to Harry Lahrmann, a traffic researcher at Aalborg University, focusing on increasing capacity rather than reducing fares is a better method of getting more people to use public transport.

“It would work best to have more trains,” Lahrmann told metroXpress. “There is evidence to suggest that reducing prices

S-trains go Anglo Good news for English speakers taking the S-train. This summer, all announcements about changes to train schedules will also be made in English.

Normally the information is only announced in Danish. According to an update on the railway company’s DSB Facebook page, the S-train has long considered accommodating non-Danish speakers, including tourists.

“There will be English announcements at all S-train stations,” said a DSB spokesperson.

The employees who will be making the

doesn’t help.”

The continuation of the HyperCard scheme, which gives high school students cheap fares to and from their place of education, was also up for discussion.

While some want to expand the project to reach more students, Enhedslisten thinks that the scheme is too focused on a small portion of the population.

“I think the HyperCard scheme for all students is a good

broadcasts have all undergone English courses.

However, it is unclear what kinds of schedule changes will be announced in English. DSB concedes that sudden changes will still probably be only announced in Danish because “it will be difficult to obtain information in English.”

DSB said the English announcements will only be made temporarily through June, July and August – after which it will determine whether it will continue to provide the service.

idea, but it would cost between 300 and 400 million kroner and not all groups would benefit from the reduction in fares,” Enhedslisten’s traffic spokesperson Henning Hyllested said.

After the government failed to introduce a congestion zone for Copenhagen, they instead established a Congestion Committee in April to examine alternative ways of tackling the city’s traffic problems.

Shandana Mutfi The 24-person committee comprises businesspeople, researchers, environmental organisations and politicians. They have until January 2013 to develop a strategy for tackling congestion in Copenhagen. (PS)

IC4 woes continue Ten years late and a billion kroner over budget, DSB’s Italian debacle deepens. See page 15.

6

News

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

8 - 14 June 2012

Christian Wenande

Many argue a transsexual woman was the ‘moral winner’ in a popularity competition started by a downtown bar to win a pair of fake breasts

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bar is being accused by the LGBT community of discriminating against a transsexual woman they argue was the true winner of a contest to win breast enhancement surgery.

The competition was started

by Kostbar – located on Gothersgade in central Copenhagen – and ignited a media storm when it was reported in early March.

The premise was simple.

Competitors were asked to send in a photo along with a brief explanation of why they should win a new pair of silicone breasts. The competitors were displayed on the bar’s Facebook page and the winner would be the individual with the most number of ‘likes’.

The bar now stands accused of creating a fake ‘mystery’ contender in order to avoid awarding the enhancement surgery to a transsexual woman who was winning the competition by a wide margin.

In the final week of the competition, transsexual Malene Lang Hansen was in first place with about 1,600 votes, almost doubling the number of votes of the second place competitor.

On her profile, Hansen described how she was always identified as being a woman but was sad that she could not afford to pay for breasts.

“I am transsexual and was born in a boy’s body,” she wrote.

“On the inside I have always felt like a woman.”

Only days before the competition ended on June 1, however, a new competitor emerged who quickly amassed almost 4,000 votes and dropped Hansen into second place. But questions have been raised over the competitor’s authenticity.

Suspicions that the competitor is a fabrication were further raised when Politiken newspaper’s culture and nightlife supplement, iByen, discovered the photo of the mystery lady was a generic image that could be found from different places on-

Top: Colurbox; Left: Danner.dk; Right: unknown

Peter Stanners

For the first time in Danish history, a doctor is sentenced to prison because of treatment administered to patients

T

Hansen (left) was in pole position to win the breast surgery until the appearance of the mystery woman (right)

line. An attempt by The Copenhagen Post to search for the photo online, however, only turned up Politiken’s own stories.

The surging popularity of the woman could also be explained as ‘likes’ can be bought cheaply online from websites where 2,000 ‘likes’ can be bought for as little as $100.

Also, the woman’s likes went from zero to almost 4,000 in just over 24 hours, though only a handful were added in the following 24 hours. Lastly, neither the woman, nor anyone claiming to know the woman, has so far stepped forward.

The suspicions that Kostbar had fabricated the competitor to avoid giving the breasts to a transsexual woman are also supported by other seemingly discriminatory treatment that Hansen had received earlier in the competition.

Hansen had earlier been disqualified when Kostbar moved the competition from its Facebook page to its website. She was eventually put back in the running after the story broke in the national media. Despite having mysteriously lost many of her likes, she quickly moved ahead into first place, where she remained until the appearance of the mystery woman.

Politiken reports that other transsexual women in the competition also found that their profiles were not transferred

when the bar moved the competition to their website.

Hansen expressed disappointment about the result and was under no doubt that she had been treated unfairly.

“I think it’s very suspicious that two days before the end of the competition a new girl suddenly shows up who quickly gains 3,700 votes,” Hansen told Politiken. “I, and many others, think the Kostbar has cheated.

I am the moral winner of the silicone breasts, but obviously it didn’t fit their advertising campaign.”

Hansen added that the incident brings to light the discrimination faced by transgender people.

“It’s really hard work to get acknowledgement and respect when you are transsexual. This case shows the discrimination transsexual people face. It shows the distance and the contempt that transsexuals and other minorities experience.”

Kostbar’s owner Thomas Søgaard denied, however, that the competition was rigged.

“We have had no influence on the result of the competition,” Hansen wrote on Facebook. “We are sorry that a participant is sad not to have won, but the same rules applied to everyone. We wish the winner congratulations and thank everyone for the interest that has been shown in the competition.”

he infamous alternative doctor Søren Ventegodt received a suspended sentence of 30 days in prison last week for manipulating some of his patients in a sexual manner.

Furthermore, the Copenhagen Municipal Court handed Ventegodt a two-year suspended sentence and stripped him indefinitely of his licence to practise, including being able to do open surgery procedures of a gynaecological, physiotherapeutic or sexological nature.

The doctor, who practised at a research clinic for holistic medicine, was also ordered to pay compensation of 10,000 and 25,000 kroner to two wronglytreated women, one of which he had kissed on the genitals.

Ventegodt asked for deliberation time in order to decide whether or not to appeal against

The courts handed Søren Ventegodt a suspended 30-day prison sentence and a two-year probation

the verdict.

Ventegodt was dubbed Dr Klam (Dr Perv) by the national press in 2005, when he was exposed for performing dubious treatments on his patients.

His use of ‘vaginal acupressure’, which involved him massaging female patients in the crotch, was particularly criticised.

Ventegodt defended the practice as a kind of physiotherapy, but the Doctor’s Law Council (Retslægerådet) would not

condone ‘vaginal acupressure’ as a verifiable doctor treatment and instead indicated that it had an underlying tone of sexual abuse.

Jakob Buch-Jepsen, who was the prosecutor in the case, expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision.

“It is the first time in Danish history that a doctor is sentenced to prison because of treatment administered to their patients,” Buch-Jepsen told Ekstra Bladet tabloid.

DR announces two new channels Shandana Mufti DR3 and Lille Ramasjang added, while DR Update and DR HD get the axe

T

elevision viewers can look forward to two new channels in 2013, public broadcaster DR announced on Monday.

One of the new channels, DR3, will be targeted at viewers aged 15-39 and will “surprise, provoke and challenge”, according to a press release.

One imagines this news may not have been cause for celebration among the political party Kristendemokraterne (KD), who already think DR’s programming is too provocative.

Earlier this year, KD blasted Ramasjang, DR’s channel aimed at children, for showing men and dolls in lingerie and covering other adult topics that the party maintains young viewers cannot understand and should not have forced upon them.

Ramasjang’s channel editor Kristine Vinderskov, however, largely dismissed that criticism.

“For Ramasjang, it’s not important to be judgemental or biased, but to celebrate the values of diversity and tolerance,” Vinderskov told Jyllands-Posten in February.

Although Monday’s new channel announcement didn’t mention any criticism of Ramasjang’s programming, DR is now launching Lille Ramasjang, which will target viewers aged three to six years. Whether this channel will move away from the controversial programming of Ramasjang remains to be seen, but the original Ramasjang will now be geared towards children aged seven to 12. Its previous demographic was children aged three to ten.

Changes to DR’s existing channels were also announced, including the shutting down of DR Update and DR HD. Parts of their content will be included in the new channels.

According to the release, news and current affairs will have a more prominent role on DR2.

The channel will be broadcast 24 hours a day and provide deeper analysis and more background information and perspective on

its stories. The channel will carry some content from DR Update.

The changes to DR2 were seen as an open declaration of war against TV2.

“DR2 was precisely the channel that should have been delivering background material that provides perspective, but they were caught sleeping,” Frands Mortensen, a professor of media science at Aarhus University, told Politiken newspaper.

“And now they’ve obviously been inspired by TV2 News, which is a goldmine for TV2, also when it comes to image.”

TV2 News head Mikkel Hertz told Politiken that DR2’s proposed changes were reminiscent of TV2 News, but he wasn’t too worried because TV2 News is “a well-oiled machine”.

DR is funded by a broadcast receiving licence fee that all radio and television owners in Denmark must pay. Recently, owners of computers and other devices able to receive DR’s video content, including mobile phones, have also been required to pay the fee. The fee must be paid regardless of whether the services were ordered or not.

Online this week Aid projects shut down after reports of fraud

Turning empty bottles into stardom

Better incentives needed for recycling, council agrees

Three Danish aid projects in Vietnam have been shut down following reports of widespread fraud. The development minister, Christian Friis Bach (Radikale), cut off funding to all three climate change research projects after an independent review by Price Waterhouse Coopers uncovered

Empty beer bottles lying around? Why not record a cover of your favourite pop song and upload it to YouTube? Then all that’s left to do is wait for the offers to perform on TV shows in the USA to come rolling in. That’s what a trio of Danes calling themselves The Bottle Boys did when they uploaded

The City Council has agreed with the criticism of its changes to its rubbish collection charges.

Instead of charging according to weight, housing associations were instead charged by the number of apartments they occupied. Housing association

“numerous irregularities”. The misuse of funds included excessive charges for local services, questionable service contracts, major discrepancies between project ledgers and unauthorised spending. The amount of funds misused is still being investigated, but could be as much as 3.3 million kroner.

a cover of Lady Gaga’s ‘Pokerface’.

The video (see it using the QR code) has Scan code to see it recently become a viral hit, garnering nearly 150,000 views.

residents argue that this removes the economic incentive for housing associations to sort their rubbish. Copenhagen’s deputy mayor for technical and environmental affairs, Ayfer Baykal (Socialistisk Folkeparti), agreed and said she’d investigate.

Read the full stories at cphpost.dk

Scanpix/Dennis Lehmann

Fake boob competition ends Dr Perv treated to a sentencing in mystery and scandal

News

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

8 - 14 June 2012

7 Middle and Right: Damon van der Linde

Djessie Prahn

Danish volunteers rebuild lives in Sierra Leone

Djessie Prahn, a retired teacher from Copenhagen, sits with children from the Erik Thune Primary School

Left: Brima Koroma stands in the village of Norway, Sierra Leone, where he lives with 20 other families, each with a member who has lost a limb or been otherwise injured during the civil war. Right: Volunteers from Denmark and Sierra Leone sit with school staff as they test a new laptop for the Erik Thune Primary School, named after a Danish philanthropist

Damon van der Linde Danish chapter of Engineers Without Borders works to give victims of Sierra Leone’s civil war hope for the future

W

hen the rebels invaded Brima Koroma’s town, everyone fled. He told his wife and children to leave without him while he hid their valuables in the nearby woods. The rebels, unhappy that the villagers didn’t welcome them as liberators from Sierra Leone’s oppressive government, found Koroma and decided to make an example of him by cutting off both of his arms.

“I pleaded with them to kill me rather than to leave me in this condition,” said Koroma. “I

was left alone lying in a pool of blood. The village had been deserted. Everyone else was hiding for their lives.”

After the war, Koroma could not find work and did not receive ongoing care from the government. He stayed with relatives and begged on the street to provide a little for his family, including his two sons who would have to go school.

“There was no-one else to take care of me, not even my family because they are poor and they look up to me,” he said.

In 2006 he moved into a village founded by philanthropist Elisa Schanke. A cluster of 20 beige concrete homes beside a highway, the village was created to house those who lost a limb or were otherwise wounded during the war. There is also a school and

living quarters for the staff, and soon there will be a health clinic.

Like the patron’s home country, the village is called Norway.

Today, Danish volunteers have teamed up with local partners to help construct modern school facilities in the village where Koroma’s four and sixyear-old sons attend class.

Volunteers from Engineers Without Borders (EWB) in Denmark are working with members from the Sierra Leone chapter to complete the construction of the Erik Thune Primary School, as well as a health clinic and living quarters for the staff. The school is named after a Danish industrialist and philanthropist, and founder of the charitable organisation helping to fund the project in Sierra Leone.

Those who had limbs am-

The money is from Denmark, but this is our project. It’s for our people. putated or were in other ways wounded during the war face exceptional challenges earning a living in a country with an unemployment rate of about 60 percent among the able-bodied.

This makes it difficult to support children and pay for necessities like school fees.

Like Koroma, after the eleven-year civil war, many amputees and war-wounded received little ongoing care from

the government. To date, there are demands for compensation.

To compound this problem, children are often shouldered with the extra daily chores that come with having a parent who is physically challenged.

“Our interest locally is that amputees are still facing a trauma. We think the children of the war amputees should at least have a better opportunity to take care of their parents whose limbs were cut,” said Mohamed Salman Khalil, an EWB volunteer with the Sierra Leone chapter.

Many amputees also have difficulty looking after themselves alone, so they rely on family for their most basic needs. This can sometimes mean that if there is not a school easily accessible, education becomes a lesser priority.

“Honestly, we think for some of the adults it may be too late to bring them to a higher level,” said Ove Hjulei Pedersen, a volunteer with the Danish chapter of EWB, in Norway on his second visit.

Pedesen is a retired managing director of an engineering contractor which was installing a solar-powered electrical system to charge school laptops. “We think the future belongs to the children, and the children from the amputee families are in a very critical situation because many parents cannot afford to let them go to school.”

The 90 children, all with a

family member who had a limb amputated during the war, attend the primary school, taking classes in a solar-lit building with teachers supported financially by Denmark.

“It was an opportunity for me to do something for the children. I don’t care if the parents are victims of the war or not, as long as the children will learn and be happy,” said Djessie Prahn, a retired teacher from Copenhagen volunteering in Sierra Leone with Seniors Without Borders.

Prahn is arranging scholarships for teachers at the school to attend college. “I don’t think there is a very good system here, yet because they have not found their bearings after the war, it’s too difficult for them, I think.”

Ten years since the war ended, the project is supposed to leave the village sustainable.

“The money is from Denmark, but this is our project. It’s for our people,” said Mohamed Salman Khalil, an Engineers Without Borders volunteer of the Sierra Leone chapter.

“When we leave, we want the system to run by itself.”

The donations won’t last forever, and people in the village know eventually that they will have to make their own living.

But if the children of the amputees get an education, perhaps they will have more opportunities than their parents.

Ray Weaver Uffe Elbæk opts not to boycott the European Championship

D

enmark’s culture minister, Uffe Elbæk (Radikale), will be in the stands when the Danish national team takes the field for its opening match of Euro 2012 against the Netherlands on Saturday at the Metalist arena in Kharkiv, Ukraine.

“My own position is clear and so the government’s position is clear,” Elbæk told Politiken newspaper. “Something serious would have to happen before I would change my mind.”

Both the EU and the United States have issued statements condemning Ukraine for alleged human rights violations and the mistreatment of Ukraine’s former prime minister, Julia Timosjenko, who was sentenced by the government to seven years in prison for abuse of power.

Several countries’ politicians, including those of Sweden, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, are boycotting the tournament and some Danish politicians have encouraged their peers to do so as well.

Mykhailo Skuratovskyi, the Ukrainian ambassador to Denmark, told The Copenhagen Post that he is pleased that a member of the Danish government is

If it is used as a platform to focus on the issues, then the visit could actually have long-term benefits planning to come to Ukraine and that events like Euro 2012 are a time to put politics aside.

“Since the time of the very first Olympic Games in ancient Greece, opposing armies, which had only the day before been engaged in life and death struggles, would put aside their dif-

ferences for the duration of the games and fight their battles on the playing fields rather than the fields of war,” said Skuratovskyi.

Elbæk said he sees the visit as an opportunity to combine his support of the national team with meetings with activist and opposition groups.

Amnesty International is officially neutral when it comes to the boycott, but Trine Christensen of the group’s Danish office told Politiken that she can see the benefits of Elbæk making the trip to Ukraine.

“If it is used as a platform to focus on the issues, as Uffe Elbæk says he is interested in doing, then the visit could actually have long-term benefits,” Chris-

Scanpix/Jens Nørgaard Larsen

Culture minister will attend Euro 2012 in Ukraine

Uffe Elbæk will be in Ukraine for the European Championship

tensen said.

Christensen said it would be risky to publish the names of groups that Elbæk may meet, but they include gay rights groups, human rights activists and the relatives of prisoners.

“I want to talk with the good people of Ukraine, if it is at all

possible, both before and after the match,” Elbæk told Politiken.

The final decision on the government’s position on the boycott is up to its co-ordinating committee, not the culture minister, but Elbæk said that he believed that the committee would support his position.

8

OPINION

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

Swifter better than cheaper

R

EGULAR riders of the S-train will know that Copenhagen’s commuter rail service is a generally reliable, comfortable, albeit far from perfect system. They also know that given the cost of a ticket, it ought to be a lot better.

Copenhagen, according to a ranking of 80 frequently visited cities worldwide, has the second highest public transport fares in the world. (Only commuters in Oslo pay more.) That’s something of an insult, given the frequent delays and service interruptions.

Public transport, though, seldom costs more than the average working person can afford, and it’s only natural to assume that ticket prices in high-wage Copenhagen cost more than in Quito. But, statistics also show that over the past 20 years the cost of a basic two-zone ticket has shot up from nine kroner in 1992 to 24 kroner today. Adjusted for inflation, fares have increased twice as fast as prices in general. In addition, DSB has implemented hidden cost hikes by adding fare zones, and by increasing the number of zones passengers need to pass through before hitting the maximum ‘Alle zoner’ fare.

Part of the reason DSB, the state-owned rail operator, can get away with the rapid price hikes is that public transport, even in our bike-crazy capital, is the only option for many. Even though the fare increases of the past two decades have closed the price gap, commuting by car is still outrageously expensive.

For these people, the best way to use some of the planned billion kroner investment in the public transport network would be to lower fares on monthly passes and for those who commute the furthest.

But when it comes to commuting, cost is only part of the equation, and it is rarely the most important. Other factors such as convenience and travel time often play a larger role in people’s decisions. Fortunately for bus and train operators, public transport, in most cases, still takes less time than driving. Keeping it that way is vital if public authorities want to keep commuters from finding alternative methods of travel.

The Socialistisk Folkeparti election promise of lower fares would be a welcome change from the constant price hikes of the past two decades, but it’s a pledge we’re willing to let them get out of if they can provide something even more important: progress. For commuters, that’s what really matters – whether it’s speeding past long lines of motorway traffic or seeing improved service. And if the pledged billion kroner investment means we’ll get the world’s second-best public transport system to go with our second-highest fares, then that’s all the progress we could ask for.

8 - 14 June 2012

The economy needs a swift kick in the pants

MORTEN LANGER

D

ENMARK’S banks are so sick that they are unable to carry out their most important task: channelling foreign capital into the economy. Meanwhile export growth, which had been the only bright spot, is just about out of steam. And with it, it is more likely that consumer spending will decrease rather than increase, and we should ready ourselves for higher unemployment in the coming months. If that happens, consumer spending will decline further as people’s concerns about their financial futures grow.

During its first year in office, the Socialdemokraterne-led coalition has followed a responsible economic policy, showing considerable restraint when it comes to public spending. Given that this is a left-leaning government, this is no small achievement. Part of the reason why it has been able to act this way is that there was no pressing need to stoke the economy. During the first months of the term, it appeared that the glo-

bal economy was on the mend, and that this would eventually spread to Denmark.

Unfortunately, things haven’t turned out that way, and no matter what happens to southern Europe’s debt-plagued states, we can expect Europe’s economic turbulence to continue for the foreseeable future. Denmark won’t escape Europe’s troubles, even if we do find ourselves in the unique situation of having a balance of payments surplus and a manageable deficit.

It’s also worth noting that the Danish state can still easily pay off the interest on bonds it sells abroad. The interest rate on Danish ten-year treasury bills is under 1 percent, which is less than in Germany. Nationalbanken, the central bank, is awash in foreign currency because investors are drawn to the krone as a safe haven at a time when there is increasing uncertainty about the future of the euro.

Given all the pressures facing the economy, there’s a good reason why the government and parliament should agree to stimulus measures. It’s important, though, that they do so wisely and take steps to make businesses more competitive. There is good reason to believe that the proposed tax reform will put more money into the pockets of working people.

That’s something that, in and of itself, can stimulate private sector spending.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to see any direct effect the reform would have on competitiveness.

The government should be focusing on ways to make it less expensive to do business – both when it comes to wage levels as well as when it comes to the cost of lending. It should also give better incentives for people to start new businesses.

A first step would be to improve competition by getting people to work longer for the same amount of money. We can only hope that the three-party talks between the government, labour organisations and management representatives come up with specific plans of action. Up to this point, however, there has been little reason for optimism.

Next, the government should stimulate private sector growth by being a more active lender at a time when a moribund banking sector is preoccupied with cleaning up is own affairs. The current plan to set up a state-operated agricultural bank is an obvious first choice, but such a move is neither grand enough, nor broad enough to have a major impact. Most of all, the measure seems primarily to be a way to help banks. What’s needed are forward-looking measures that can help stimulate businesses.

Another important step is to take advantage of the untapped potential of our enormous number of entrepreneurs and start-ups. Under the current system, parliament treats them like the second-class citizens of the corporate world by creating one useless public funding programme after another. Compa-

nies seeking to benefit from these programmes are hindered by a jungle of requirements, liability clauses, demands on equity and positive evaluations from banks that neither can nor will run the slightest amount of risk.

The two most prominent sources of capital, both managed

by Vækstfonden, a state-operated investment fund, are too narrowly targeted to have an effect.

What is needed is an effort to direct foreign capital to Danish businesses. This plan should be thought up not by private bankers but by commercial bankers, whose purpose in life is to make loans to businesses.

Such an effort could include the establishment of a state-run bank, owned by Financiel Stabilitet, the public authority responsible for assuming the operation of troubled banks. Such an institution could help alleviate the credit crunch while the banking sector gets back on its feet.

Once banks are back to health, the state-run bank could either be privatised or sold off.

The government needs to consider creative solutions to the current economic malaise – including giving a tax benefit to private investors who put money into small companies. But no matter what steps it takes, it must make a decision now, while it still has time to decide its own course of action.

The author is the editor-in-chief of Økonomisk Ugebrev, a weekly financial publication.

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Wow, what a violent crime, I am shocked and appalled. At the same time, two people were arrested for unauthorised farting on Strøget.

Thorvaldsen by website You fail to understand that the people having sex were filmed without their permission. This is an invasion of their private life, and therefore a form of violence.

Thorvaldsen, is sex as mundane as farting for you?

TraiilerTrash by website It was a prank. As ironic as this may sound, grow up.

Hiro400 by website

The Lynch Report | How to piss off a Dane (not) The easiest way to piss a Dane off is to criticise their country. No matter how nicely you say it or how true it is. They usually say: “It’s worse in ...” and/or: “If you don’t like it why don’t you leave?”

One of my favourites is: “It’s worse in North Korea.”

Suzie by website

www.cphpost.dk

I agree with this writer’s take on the original article completely.

Danes are not easily pissed off, generally. The quickest way to piss off a Dane in my experience is to let the water run while you are washing a few dishes. They will give you a long lecture on environmental awareness.

Scott Ross Call

by Facebook In America we say: “How are you doing?” as another way of saying hi. The correct response is to say: “Good, how are you?” We don’t expect you to go into your health problems, your aunt’s back surgery, your dog’s death, etc. It is called being polite, not being fake or anything. Some of us DO actually care how others are doing!

Hey, look at that annoyed American – we do exist.

Kimberly Lauridsen by website When foreigners complain regularly or harshly when living in Britain, people would often react by saying: “Why don’t you leave then?” I’m not saying it’s particularly helpful or always correct if Danes or Brits, or whatever nationals, say these things, but I don’t understand if a foreigner complains about his resident country, why then people would be surprised if someone would make these comments in response? Seems to me the obvious thing you would hear in such a conversation. As usual in all these things, it’s all about balance, con-

text, and perspective.

Jeg_er

by website

PET foil “concrete terror action” Why are Somalis in Denmark?

Send them all back before they turn Denmark into Somalia!

Danes, take pride in yourselves!

Hostile immigrants are overrunning Europe. Native European populations are decreasing at an alarming rate due to low birthrates. Population replacement will happen in 50 years. Goodbye Europe, hello new dark ages.

Goodbye technology, human rights, advancement, property rights and limited powers of government. Hello cruelty, rape, genocide, ignorance and oppression.

How wonderful it will be when Denmark is the new Zimbabwe.

Ignorant fools! Western Civilisation is going extinct, never to reawaken. Rise up! Expel the immigrants and your leftist politicians with them!

John by website Why are Somalis in Denmark?

Because Denmark must also fill its quota regarding the taking in of refugees according to its international agreements. If you disagree with Denmark doing so, have your government sign off on that and suffer the consequences of being isolated from the rest of the western world and pos-

sibly the UN as well. Perhaps if Denmark treated its refugees humanely and accepted them, there would not be cases of extremism we are seeing. I won’t make any judgement calls here, but one must look at how a country treats its refugees if one really wants to know how humane that country’s populace indeed is.

Davidaron by website Native European? What’s that?

Did they spring up out of the earth fully formed? You can say what you like about African countries, but they take more than their fair share of refugees.

If you measure humanity on that scale, Europe has a long way to go.

Adventures and Japes by website Native Europeans exist in the same way that Native Americans exist. They have been the indigenous inhabitants of Europe for the last 40,000 years or so. In fact, Native Europeans have been in Europe for twice as long as Native Americans have been in America.

But I daresay you wouldn’t ask what a Native American was. You know what a Native European is. It’s a white European. It’s very racist of you to try to undermine and deny the existence of an indigenous people like this.

Leofwin by website

OPINION

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

8 - 14 June 2012

9

Pernickety Dicky

BY RICHARD STEED English my nature – Danish at heart. Freelance journalist Richard Steed has lived in Copenhagen for nearly five years now. “I love this city and want Copenhagen to be a shining example to the rest of the world.”

I have a Danish dream COLOURBOX

S

O IT’S JUNE 2019 and Skat, the last of the government agencies, announces all their tax information is finally available in both Arabic and English. It’s been five years since Denmark faced the European Court for Human Rights over its unwelcoming attitude and discrimination towards foreigners and asylum seekers.

After the Danish state accepted negligence and the former prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, made a very public apology, foreign nationals are finally returning to live and work in Denmark. I at long last receive my letter of apology from Skat, with two free tickets for ‘Paradise Hotel – The Musical’, which go straight onto eBay. The mass exodus of foreigners from Denmark and the worldwide attention given to the asylum seekers on hunger strike at Sandholm Refugee Camp had a profound impact on the psyche of the Danes. The new government announces that Denmark will now strive to become a trilingual state of Danish, English and Arabic by 2035. The asylum seekers who were caught up in their incarcerated nightmare are given the freedom of the city.

The new tone of internationalism is certainly paying off as Denmark is currently enjoying the fastest growing economy in Europe, while showcasing an alternative prescription for rampant globalisation. Prime Minister Joanna Schmidt-Nielsen even receives praise from the International Monetary Fund for being “more socialist than China”, yet still having a “world-class, dynamic, mixed-market economy”. Though the IMF do point out that Denmark’s ‘service without a smile’ attitude needs to change.

After the embarrassment of the 2012 Living Planet report, stating that Denmark had the fourth largest car-

In the columnist’s vision of the future, diversity and internationalism are virtues ... now that the foreigners have finally returned

bon footprint in the world, the Danes have finally sorted out their huge waste problem. The mass compulsory shock treatment of throwing all culprits into a trash dump and making them live there for a week seems to have done the trick.

Next year Copenhagen will be on target

to become the first truly sustainable city anywhere in the world, and electric cars are everywhere to be seen.

The World Health Organisation congratulates the Danes for pioneering fat and sugar taxes, which have now been adopted worldwide and have helped cut

obesity by a third globally. Yet there is also sharp criticism from them, over the ridiculous decision back in 2012 to stop producing cigarette packs of ten, with new data showing the Danes are now the heaviest smokers in Europe.

The scandal over the Danes being

Prime Minister Joanna Schmidt-Nielsen receives praise from the International Monetary Fund for being “more socialist than China”, yet still having a “world-class, dynamic, mixed-market economy” the happiest people in the world seems to have finally died down, after revelations

by Ekstra Bladet found that 70 percent of the population were using Prozac.

The biggest Danish film of the year, ‘Perker Posse’, a hilarious comedy about a dysfunctional Arabic household living in Nørrebro, wins the prestigious Berlin Golden Bear Prize. The film is now the top grossing Danish film of all time, and cinemas in Jutland are showing the film 24 hours a day.

Christiania is again voted the top tourist attraction in Copenhagen, while at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, the forgotten pop star Medina returns to represent Denmark, though sadly gets voted out in the semi-final and returns to the cruise ships.

In June 2019, I will be 55 years old!

On that horrible thought, my fantastic Danish dream comes to an abrupt and unhappy end. And as I awake, there are two unopened letters in front of me. The first is my latest tax demand from Skat, which funnily enough is still written in Danish. The other letter, written in English, is for a job interview back in Britain.

CPH POST VOICES

‘STILL ADJUSTING’

‘TO BE PERFECTLY FRANK’

‘MACCARTHY’S WORLD’

‘THE LYNCH REPORT’

A proud native of the American state of Iowa, Justin Cremer has been living in Copenhagen since June 2010. In addition to working at the CPH Post, he balances fatherhood, the Danish language and the ever-changing immigration rules. Follow him at twitter.com/justincph

Born in 1942 on the Isle of Wight, Englishman Frank Theakston has been in Copenhagen 32 years and is on his second marriage, this time to a Dane. Frank comes from a different time and a different culture – which values are the right ones today?

Clare MacCarthy is Nordic correspondent for The Economist and a frequent contributor to The Financial Times and The Irish Times. She’ll go anywhere from the Gobi Desert to the Arctic in search of a story. The most fascinating thing about Denmark, she says, is its contradictions.

English-Australian theatre director Stuart Lynch has lived in Copenhagen since Clinton impeached his cigars and writes from the heart of the Danish and international theatre scene. He is married with kids and lives in Nørrebro. Visit his Danish theatre at www.lynchcompany.dk.

10

DENMARK

Journalist Christian Wenande and intern journalist Malene Ørsted are both ‘Danish Dynamite’ to the bone, but they realise that it will take a minor miracle to get out of the ‘Group of Death’. “I was five years old the last time Denmark won the Euros and remember my dad shouting and jumping up and down,” recalls Malene. “I didn’t get it then, and not much has changed. Still there’s always the hope one of the players will take their shirt off.” Christian is also hopeful. “I have the faith.

That and my lucky Denmark underwear from 1986,” he explains. “Not sure what would be more of a miracle, Denmark progressing from the group stage or me fitting into drawers I had when I was eight.” Either way they’re in for some ‘tight’ games.

EURO 2012 GROUP A GROUP B

FRI JUNE 8, 17:00

POLAND

VS

RUSSIA

FRI JUNE 8, 19:45

TUE JUNE 12, 17:00

GREECE

POLAND

SAT JUNE 16, 19:45

SAT JUNE 16, 19:45

GERMANY

InOut’s resident ballet expert and writer, Franziska Bork Petersen, has led a very sheltered upbringing. Failing to qualify, crashing out in the group stage, and playing brilliantly but going out on penalties are all alien concepts to her. She is of course German and quietly confident that her countrymen will once again deliver. Beaten finalists four years ago, and in the semi-finals in the last World Cup, both times by Spain, they are already looking beyond the group eyeing revenge. But they need to be careful and not fail to advance from what is a very tricky group like they did in 2000. “My first memory of watching football were the pirouettes of Jurgen Klinsmann,” says Franziska. “On reflection, he was one of the reasons I started liking ballet instead.”

CZECH REP

TUE JUNE 12, 19:45

VS

RUSSIA

VS

GREECE

POLAND

VS

W

D

L

GD

1 2 3 4

-

P

A1

VS

SAT JUNE 9, 19:45

WED JUNE 13, 17:00

GERMANY

B2

DENMARK

VS

DENMARK

NETHERLANDS

PORTUGAL

VS

PORTUGAL

WED JUNE 13, 19:45

VS

SUN JUNE 17, 19:45

SUN JUNE 17, 19:45

GERMANY

VS

PORTUGAL

QUARTER FINAL 1 QF1

SAT JUNE 9, 17:00

DENMARK

RUSSIA

GROUP A

NETHERLANDS

CZECH REP

VS

CZECH REP

GREECE

VS

GERMANY

VS

NETHERLANDS

GROUP B

W

D

L

GD

1 2 3 4

-

P

QUARTER FINAL 2 B1

A2

SEMI FINAL 1

QF2

SEMI FINAL 2

QF4

PORTUGAL

Portuguese intern journalist Claudia Santos has been living in Denmark for the past 17 years so confesses to mixed loyalties when the two countries closest to her heart play – which in recent years has been a regular occasion. Both countries were in the same group for qualifying for Euro 2012, and also for the 2010 World Cup. But while the Danes finished top both times, winning two of the four meetings with one draw, Claudia is confident Portugal will win when it really matters. “Whenever they play, I always try to keep a low profile. Almost everyone I know texts me clever things like ‘Ha ha, your team sucks’ or ‘the current score is …’, as if I didn’t know!” she says. “The funny thing is that I get these texts from both Denmark and Portugal – I’m getting harassed by both sides!”

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WALLCHART GROUP C GROUP D

SPAIN

SUN JUNE 10, 17:00

SUN JUNE 10, 19:45

THU JUNE 14, 17:00

VS

REP OF IRELAND ITALY

SPAIN

MON JUNE 18, 19:45

MON JUNE 18, 19:45

CROATIA

VS

CROATIA

VS

REP OF IRELAND

VS

ITALY

SPAIN

VS

W

D

L

GD

1 2 3 4

-

P

QUARTER FINAL 3 C1

D2

SF1

FRANCE

MON JUNE 11, 17:00

MON JUNE 11, 19:45

FRI JUNE 15, 17:00

VS

ENGLAND

VS

UKRAINE

SWEDEN

SWEDEN

VS VS

TUE JUNE 19, 19:45

TUE JUNE 19, 19:45

ENGLAND

VS

SWEDEN

ENGLAND

England always expects but managing editor Ben Hamilton and journalist Peter Stanners, seen here doing their best impression of their country’s bulldog spirit, aren’t getting carried away with their chances.

“Nobody goes into a major football championship not wanting to win,” says Ben. “But you’d have to go back to Euro 1992 to find an England team I was less confident about.” Or maybe that’s just his age talking! England face France, Sweden and co-hosts Ukraine. “We never, ever beat Sweden,” moans Pete. “Can’t remember the last time we beat France, and didn’t we lose in Ukraine in 2009?”

FRANCE

FRI JUNE 15, 19:45

ENGLAND

REP OF IRELAND

GROUP C

UKRAINE

THU JUNE 14, 19:45

CROATIA

ITALY

VS

11

UKRAINE

VS

FRANCE

GROUP B

W

D

L

GD

1 2 3 4

-

P

IRELAND

Intern journalist Jessica O’Sullivan, the co-author of the acclaimed Dating the Danes column, was only 15 last time Ireland qualified for a major football championship, so we’ll forgive her excitement about the chances of the boys in green getting out of a tricky group, which includes world and European champions Spain, 2006 World Cup winners Italy, and the always dangerous Croatia. But while Jessica is only slightly more Irish than Tony Cascarino (Australian by birth, one of her grand-parents is from the old country), she’ll be rooting for them all the way, sport. “I really hope the luck of the Irish is with us, it’d be great for us to finally win something” says Jessica. “But I guess if we lose we’ll still win the award for best fans and drinkers though.”

QUARTER FINAL 4 D1

FINAL

C2

SF2

NETHERLANDS

UEFA EURO 2012 WINNER

Dutch intern journalist Mike Hofman, InOut’s film editor, like 99.999 percent of the Dutch population takes his football very, very seriously.

Orange is, and has always been, the only colour ... unless they’re playing in black. The Netherlands comfortably beat Denmark at the last World Cup and have not lost to the Danes since Euro 1992, but then again, they did recently lose to Sweden and any Dane will tell you that they’re rubbish. “It happens to the best,” says Mike. “But the 6-0 farewell victory in their final warm-up match against Northern Ireland should give them enough confidence for the next match.”

DESIGN: MAGNUS BARKMAN PETERSEN PHOTOS: PETER STANNERS & AVIAJA BEBE NIELSEN SPECIAL THANKS TO: DAVE MAUNDE & MARKUS JUST

12

COMMUNITY

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

8 - 14 June 2012

ABOUT TOWN PHOTOS BY HASSE FERROLD

(UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED)

The English queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations started in earnest on Sunday, both in London with a flotilla of close to a thousand boats in pouring rain, and at Churchillparken in the city centre with a picnic of close to a hundred parishioners and friends of St Albans Church (pictured second left) in flukey sunshine. Among the VIP guests was a splendid cake (left) that the church’s priest, Archdeacon Jonathan LLoyd (right), personally oversaw the consumption of. (Photos: Bev Lloyd-Roberts (cake) and Clive Thain (others))

Copenhagen Zoo was the place to be last week on Thursday at an event to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Thai Royal Elephants, which was co-organised by the zoo and the Thai Embassy, and graciously attended by some of the elephants (left). Also among those attending were four of the queen’s grandchildren (left-right): Prince Joachim’s boys Princes Felix and Nikolai, and the Crown Prince Couple’s children, Prince Christian and Princess Isabella. And on the right are the adults (left-right): Thai vice foreign minister Jullapong Nonsrichai, the zoo’s chief executive Steffen Stræde, Prince Henrik, and Thai ambassador Piyawat Niyomrerks.

AT WORK AND AT PLAY

COMING UP SOON The Children’s Fair Valbyparken (Hammelstrupvej entrance); Sunday 17 June, 14:00-17:00; free adm – sign up at www.eventbrite.com The Copenhagen Post is once again hosting its popular annual event, the Children’s Fair. The fair aims to introduce international families to various clubs and associations located throughout Copenhagen, providing a free day of fun for international and Danish families alike. Along with the many clubs and organisations present, there are a wide variety of activities and performances suitable for children aged two to 13, including: pony rides, face painting, balloon artists, live demonstrations by the sports association DGI, a mini-show performed by the Copenhagen Police with their K9s and motorbikes, the Copenhagen libraries’ waffle wagon, a raffle to raise funds for the Danish Red Cross, a playground, stalls selling crafts, free snacks and beverages, and animals for petting courtesy of Børnenes Dyremark. Bring along a picnic basket and enjoy the cosiness of the fair!

Guided tour of parliament Christiansborg Slotsplads, Cph K; Mon 11 June, 18:30; free adm; www.expatindenmark.dk Join this excursion to parliament, where you’ll be visiting the chamber where most of the sessions are held, and hear about the history of the Danish parliament and the funny stories about the place. The excursion will be guided by members of the administrative staff of the parliament, who know everything about the history of the place. Send an email to info@cphvolunteers.dk if you would like to sign up for this lecture.

Foreigners in finance KPMG, Osvald Helmuths Vej 4, Frederiksberg; Fri 8 June, 18:00; free adm; www.kpmg.com Foreigners in Finance is Denmark’s largest network for expat finance professionals, established to help you get the most from Danish business and culture and keep up to date with the latest developments in finance and accounting.

Have a drink with fellow foreigners in finance, be enlightened on the latest from the world of accounting and finance, receive invaluable personal tax tips, and enhance your presentation skills with KPMG’s graphic facilitators.

Kultur Fusion Den Gule Villa, Dirch Passers Allé 2, Frederiksberg; Sun 10 June, 14:00; free adm; www.frederiksberg.dk/dengulevilla How about spending your Sunday enjoying some Filipino food and sipping Georgian wine, whilst listening to African music? If that sounds good to you, you might want to join the free family-focused Kultur Fusion event in Frederiksberg. It will be showcasing local, national and international artists and performers.

Portugal Day VerdensKulturCentret, Nørre Allé 7, Cph N; Sun 10 June, 12:00; free adm; www.kulturogfritid.kk.dk/ verdenskulturcentret Portugal’s National Day is celebrated annually on June 10. Although officially observed only in Portugal, Portuguese citizens and emigrants throughout the world celebrate this holiday. This year, the Portuguese community in Denmark will be holding a celebration, which includes many activities for young and old, competitions and traditional Portuguese cuisine.

MIKE HOFMAN

Isabelle Valentine’s husband works at a video game company and gets to play at work. She also wanted to play for a living so she started the Montessori International Preschool. She moved to Frederiksberg in May 2008 where she lives with her young family.

Summertime: education or vegetation?

THE SUMMER holidays are approaching, and while they promise lots of fun times outside, the big question is what to do with the children during all those weeks out of school?

With summer holidays that can last from six to 14 weeks, people in different countries deal with them in different ways. Some places, like the Netherlands, have really short holidays, with about six weeks off (most Danish kids get seven), usually from mid-July to late August.

Vacation in the United States lasts three months, usually from Memorial Day to Labour Day, and many parents send their children to summer camps. Over the years, they have become a real institution: a mainstream part of childhood where kids form lifelong friendships, experiencing things in the great outdoors that they would not during term-time.

However, there is a strong argument for having shorter summer vacations. It is believed that

children can forget large amounts of information and academic knowledge if they do not study for more than four to six weeks. It is sometimes called ‘summer learning loss’. And in some countries, especially in Asia, parents will send their children to ‘cram school’ or

childhood stress: peer pressure, bullying and homework.

In Denmark, many people go to højskole during the holidays and can take courses in many different fields, in different parts of the country. One great thing about it is that many grand-parents take their grandchildren to these højskoler with them, and I think it is a great way for them to bond I feel that summer is a time for while parents work and have a inspiration. Whatever children do, break themselves.

This could also it is a time when people grow, be a great way for learn something new and connect foreigners to experience Danish culwith others. ture, see remote parts of the country and improve summer school so that they con- their language skills.

All in all, I feel that summer tinue studying and are prepared is a time for inspiration. Whatfor the new school year.

Other education reformers ever children do, it is a time when believe that children need a long people grow, learn something new summer break to relax and to take and connect with others. Have a a break from the main causes of great summer everyone!

COMMUNITY

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

8 - 14 June 2012

13

Distortion: lots of rain, but still the people came PHOTOS BY EMIL THIIM BERNER HANSEN WORDS BY MIKE HOFMAN

From May 30 untill June 3, Danes and foreigners alike lost their minds to beer and live music on the streets of Copenhagen. “Five days, several hundred gigs, around 100,000 visitors each day, clean streets the morning after, no serious injuries, lower crime than normal, and a hell of a great party,” was Distortion’s verdict. And a hell of a great party it was

“More beer, NOW!”

Partying on the streets of Vesterbro

The weather wasn’t as good as last year, with pouring rain on Friday during Vesterbro’s street parties - but it faded to deter revellers from having a good time

Nørrebro brewed Bottled in England conquered Vesterbro’s Sønder Boulevard with their hand played drum ’n’bass

Suspicious-looking objects floating over the crowd

It’s a guitarist thing, to play with your mouth open

La Nuit’s Jacob Brandt, who has just passed the legal drinking age, managed to entertain the crowd by “bringing some of the best sounds of the Copenhagen nightlife together”

Bottled in England brought their groupies. Well, maybe they didn’t bring them, but they were there

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COVER STORY

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

8 - 14 June 2012

Dialling D for Denmark in the ‘Group of Death’ CHRISTIAN WENANDE Avoiding hitches and cock-ups in one of the hardest groups the European Championship has ever seen

Denmark vs the Netherlands Sat June 9, 18:00

W

HICH MEMORIES spring to mind when we recall the European Championship?

There’s the glory: Preben Elkjær scoring the winner against Belgium in 1984; John ‘Faxe’ Jensen scoring one of the few goals of his career against Germany in the 1992 final, and Peter Schmeichel tipping away a Jürgen Klinsmann strike later in the same game; and Jon Dahl Tomasson’s banana-kick sailing into the Swedish net in 2004, and how that 2-2 draw sent out the spitting Italians.

But let’s not forget the moments we’ve suppressed: Elkjær blasting a penalty over the bar against Spain in the 1984 semi-final, his buttocks showing through a gaping hole in his shorts; losing all three games in 1988 and 2000; and being thrashed 0-3 by Milan Baros and the Czech Republic in the 2004 quarter-finals.

Which memories will be fashioned in 2012? It will all start on Saturday when Denmark meets the Netherlands at the Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv, Ukraine, followed by games against Portugal and Germany (see right).

Few are expecting Denmark to advance, least not the bookmakers. They are rank outsiders to win the whole tournament (100/1, Ladbroke’s) and the group (16/1, Bet 365) and available at 9/2 with one English bookmaker just to make the quarter-finals.

Should they succeed, they will face one of the top two of Group A: Russia, Poland, Greece or the Czech Republic – a hard group to call. Hosts Poland and Russia are the most likely qualifiers, but whoever they meet, they won’t be tougher opponents than any of their fellow group members.

Their likely semi-final opponents would then be Spain, France, Italy or England. It would, of course, be a fairytale if they made it that far. But enough about England.

And then finally, several miracles later perhaps, the final on July 1. It would be 1992 all over again and then some.

Denmark have played the Netherlands 29 times, winning six, drawing ten and losing 12. The last two games resulted in a 1-1 friendly draw in 2008 and a 0-2 Dutch win in the 2010 World Cup group stage.

Denmark vs Portugal

S

TATISTICALLY, Denmark have always had a difficult time against the flying Dutchmen and haven’t beaten them since 1967, although they did oust them in the 1992 semi-final in a penalty shootout. But it’s a high-octane Dutch attack that will greet the Danes on Saturday evening, featuring players like Robin Van Persie, Klass Jan Huntelar, Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Rafael van der Vaart. The key to getting points from this game hinges on a solid defensive effort and hitting the Dutch on the counter-attack. If the Neth-

T

Wed June 13, 18:00

Denmark have played Portugal 12 times, winning three, drawing two and losing eight. They previously met in the Euro 2012 qualifiers, with Portugal winning 3-1 at home in the first game, and Denmark winning 2-1 in the second at Parken.

HE DANES have only lost to Portugal once in the last five meetings and, when the pressure was on, beat them 2-1 at home to qualify. However, it will take another monster Danish effort to get points here, particularly against two of the most gifted players in the world: Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani. Still, Portugal might have a good goalkeeper but their defence is suspect, and they lack an obvious choice to lead the line.

Restrain Ronaldo and Nani and Denmark could get a result.

D

Denmark vs Germany

ENMARK haven’t lost in three games to Germany, and have beaten them twice in recent major tournaments: 2-0 in the 1992 final and by the same score-line in the 1986 World Cup. But Germany look strong this year, having going undefeated through qualification, scoring 34 times while only conceding seven. The Danes will have to be extremely disciplined to get a result.

Sun June 17, 20:45

Denmark have a good record against Germany. In their 18 games, they’ve won seven, drawn two and lost nine. The last two games have resulted in a 1-0 friendly win for Denmark in 2007 and a 2-2 friendly draw in 2010.

erlands has an Achilles heel, it is their defence.

Key match-ups: Central defence vs Van Persie/Huntelaar: The Danish central defence must be at its absolute best. Simon Kjaer, especially, can be uneasy and panicky when in possession and mistakes will be punished immediately by the Dutch.

Danish backs vs Dutch wings: The Dutch attack relies on their speedy wings and the Danish

Key match-ups: Danish defence vs Ronaldo/Nani: The 2-1 win in October was a template of how to beat the Portuguese – it was a massive defensive effort. And the defensive midfielders must make sure the silky Ronaldo and Nani don’t slip though the middle.

Danish wingers vs Portuguese backs: The Portuguese defence has

If the Danes want to shut down the German offensive machine, they must take out the main creative clog, Özil. The German playmaker is devastating when given the freedom to blossom, but he doesn’t respond well to sturdy, tight marking.

backs, Simon Poulsen and Lars Jacobsen, must win their individual battles for the Danes to have a chance. If the Danes can frustrate the Dutch wingers, an otherwise deadly Dutch attack could stagnate in the Ukrainian sun.

Niklas Bendtner vs Dutch defence: Bendtner must be on form if Denmark is to establish any kind of attacking game. The lanky striker must be able to hold onto the ball for enough time to allow the rest of the team to push up in support.

been a liability of late, and Morten Olsen must encourage his two wingers, Dennis Rommedahl and Michael KrohnDehli, to put pressure on the flanks to open up the game for playmaker Christian Eriksen.

Christian Eriksen vs Portugal: He’s carved up Portugal once already, but to do it in a major tournament will be a different story all together, especially since Portugal will be ready this time. Or will they?

at the other. The key to keeping him quiet is to force him to stay in defense by playing it wide.

William Kvist/Niki Zimling vs Mesut Özil:

Danish backs/wings vs Philipp Lahm: The Germany captain is one of the best wing backs in the game. With ceaseless energy, he runs up and down the wings, providing pint-point crosses at one end while relentlessly hounding opposition wingers

Stephan Andersen vs German attack: The Germans are going to have their chances, no doubt, so stand-in keeper Stephan Andersen must be on top of his game to thwart them. He needs to communicate well with his defense, be more confident at set-pieces, and handle well, particularly with toe-poke specialist Mario Gomez waiting to pounce.

Key match-ups:

SPORTS NEWS AND BRIEFS Slovenia in the way

Ugly umpire moment

Eleven-goal thriller

Trio head to US Open

Keep it in the country

Always the Don

DENMARK’S rugby union side face a play-off against Slovenia in their bid to win promotion from Europe’s Division 2C. They lost 0-15 to Israel over the weekend to finish second behind the Israelis in the five-team division with five wins, one draw and two losses, conceding just 39 points.

Slovenia finished fourth in Division 2B, which is four divisions below the Six Nations.

CAROLINE Wozniacki exited the French Open in the third round on Saturday, losing in three sets to Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi. She later called one of the umpire’s decisions a disgrace, but cannot blame him for a performance that saw her bounce back from 1-6, 1-5 down to draw level, before losing the final set 3-6.

Meanwhile, she has told media she’d like to see a Denmark-Poland final at Euro 2012.

THE UNDER-21S dramatically let a 5-1 half-time lead slip to edge out the Republic of Macedonia 6-5 at home on Tuesday to maintain their 2013 Under-21s European Championship challenge. With just three games left, Denmark trail Serbia by three points with a game in hand. They face Serbia in a probable group decider on September 7. The finals are in Israel next June.

SØREN KJELDSEN last week qualified for the US Open and joins Thomas Bjørn and Anders Hansen in the field for the second major tournament of the season, which will be played from June 14-17 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. He fired rounds of 68 and 69 at the Walton Heath Golf Club in England. Meanwhile, Bjørn on Sunday finished joint second in the Wales Open.

DANISH INTERNATIONAL right back Daniel Wass has been linked with a move from Benfica to Serie A side Roma, which would see him join national teammate Simon Kjaer. Danes of late have made a habit of playing together at international clubs.

Wass has just spent a season on loan at French club Evian, where three others play, and five currently play for Dutch outfit Ajax.

FLEMMING Østergaard might not be the CEO of Parken anymore, but he’s still gunning for his old rival Anders Hørsholt, the current MD of FC Copenhagen.

Following their failure to win the Superliga/qualify for the Champions League, he was particularly vociferous in his criticism. “People are the basis for all success,” wrote Don E on Facebook. “[Hørsholt] is incompetent and out of his depth.”

Business

The Copenhagen Post cphpost.dk

8 - 14 June 2012

15

Scanpix/Henning Bagger

Economy inches out of recession

Scanpix/Torkil Adsersen

Christian Wenande Despite growth in the first quarter, the downgrading of Danish banks and the euro’s woes still threaten the economy

A There is no word yet on when the Italian IC4 trains will make a comeback to Danish tracks

DSB’s Italian train debacle deepens Peter Stanners Ten years late and a billion kroner over budget, the saga over the Italian IC4 trains continues

T

he long-delayed high-speed IC4 trains purchased by train operator DSB will end up costing one billion kroner more than the original price tag, according to calculations by weekly science newspaper Ingeniøren.

The trains have been an ongoing headache for DSB, which purchased the 83 train from Italian company Ansaldobreda in 2000 for 5.3 billion kroner, with the intention of putting them into service in 2003.

But long delays to the delivery by the Italian company, along with recent concerns over faulty brakes, mean that not one is yet in service.

According to Ingeniøren, the total cost of the IC4 trains is expected to reach about 6.4 billion kroner, despite promises made by DSB’s former CEO, Søren Eriksen, that the trains would be inexpensive.

“We are going to get a very, very cheap regional train compared to the alternative,” he said at a 2009 press conference.

In late 2011, state-owned DSB told parliament that it had

so far spent four billion kroner on the trains. Ingeniøren’s total, however, factors in additional payments to Ansaldobreda and VAT charges that will be owed once the trains become operational.

Ingeniøren also factors in the expected several billion kroner cost of upgrading the trains after DSB chose to purchase the trains at their most developed test state and complete the upgrade themselves.

There are also further costs resulting from DSB’s limited capacity due to the non-delivery of the IC4 trains. DSB has had to rent 112 double-decker carriages and maintain the ageing locomotives that pull them. DSB has not released the cost of the rental, but Ingeniøren estimates it to be about 1.5 billion kroner.

None of these costs were included by the consulting engineering firm Atkins when it last year concluded that the IC4 “was a good train for the price”.

Poul Erik Christiansen from Copenhagen Business School said that omitting these costs was misleading.

“A fair assessment of the costs only makes sense if the incidental costs incurred [as a result of the delay] are also included,” Christian told Ingeniøren.

“DSB never did that, and so the public has never been presented

with a proper insight into the IC4 project’s total costs.”

DSB was granted 2.25 billion kroner of compensation in 2009 from Ansaldobreda, of which 1.5 billion has already been paid. This compensation was factored into Ingeniøren’s figures, and according to Alex Landex, a train expert from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), the money is probably already long gone.

“My assessment is that the compensation that was handed to DSB in 2009, in the worstcase scenario, has already been eaten up by the direct and indirect costs,” he said.

IC4 trains have run for limited periods only to be withdrawn after errors were detected.

In 2008, four trains were taken out of service in Jutland after problems with their exhaust fumes, and in 2011, the trains were once again grounded after a brakes failure almost led to an accident.

The IC4 train was customdesigned for Denmark and is thought to be the reason for the lengthy delays.

Last year, it was discovered that an IC4 train was in Libya and had been given as a gift to the former dictator Muammar Gaddafi by Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi without DSB’s knowledge.

business news and briefs Arla to Greeks: “Cash only”

Maersk Line to cut 250 local jobs

If Greek retailers want to purchase cheese and butter from Danish dairy giant Arla, they’ll need to pay cash. Arla has decided that Greece’s economic situation increases the risk and has therefore decided that the Greeks need to pay up front. Meat packer Danish Crown is implementing a similar policy.

Copenhagen-based container shipper Maersk Line has announced that it will cut 400 jobs out of its global workforce of 25,000. The company said the cuts were a part of a reorganisation after heavy first quarter losses. The final details of the plan are due out on June 12. Some 250 of those job cuts will be in

Copenhagen, the company reported in a press release. Maersk Line, a subsidiary of AP MollerMaersk, lost 3.4 billion kroner in the first quarter of 2012, compared with profits of 2.5 billion kroner in the same period last year. To increase profitability and capacity, Maersk Line had already grounded some of its ships.

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fter a decline in the two previous quarters, Denmark’s GDP grew by 0.3 percent in the first quarter of 2011, according to figures from Danmarks Statistik, possibly heralding a turning point for an economy that had slipped into recession.

The growth comes after economic output fell 0.3 percent in the last half of 2011, and was driven by increased public and privat sector spending as well as higher rates of investment.

Exports also nudged up 0.3 percent, but those gains were outstripped by a 2.0 percent increase in imports. Unemployment, meanwhile, rose 0.3 percent in the first quarter.

While the growth provides a ray of optimism, economists point out that in the first quarter of 2011 the economy grew by 0.4 percent, before tailing off and ending the year in recession. Tore Stramer, a senior economist with Nykredit bank, warned that the first quarter’s growth figure is fragile at best, especially due to Europe’s persistent economic troubles.

The growth figures comes as the economy minister, Margrethe Vestager (R), sought to push stimulus initiatives

“GDP growth of 0.3 percent is very acceptable at time when European growth is being stifled by the escalating debt crisis,” Stramer told financial daily Børsen. “But, the debt crisis can increase consumer and corporate insecurity, which can curtail spending and investment – something the growth in the Danish economy certainly cannot support.”

The quarterly result is positive, some say, because it comes at a time when the economy was predicted to continue its downward trajectory.

“The figures come as a surprise because we had feared that figures in key areas would push the recession into the first quarter of 2012 as well,” Jens Nærvig Pedersen, a Danske Bank economist, told Politiken newspaper.

Banks were in need of some good news after being downgraded by two major rating agen-

cies last week on Wednesday.

Moody’s followed the lead of Standard & Poor’s and downgraded nine Danish banks, including Danske Bank, the country’s largest financial institution.

In its assessment, Moody’s said the country’s banks face a difficult operating environment, weakening asset quality and low profitability due to sluggish domestic economic growth, weakening real estate prices and higher levels of unemployment, as well as the risk of external shocks from the ongoing Eurozone debt crisis.

But despite the ill tidings, Michael Stæhr, a economist with Sydbank, predicted that the news that Denmark had eased out of a recession, albeit barely, would reassure consumers – many of whom will be receiving money following the cancellation of the state-run early retirement investment programme, efterløn.

BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN DENMARK

Reflections of a Lord Mayor of London on the Medieval Role in the Modern City John Stuttart Deputy Chairman, PWC Advisory board Lord Mayor of the City of London in 2006/2007 Sir John Stuttard is an English chartered accountant and was the Lord Mayor of the City of London in 2006/2007. He is also Deputy Chairman of PWC’s Advisory board. As the 679th Lord Mayor, John Stuttard attended nearly 2,000 engagements, including 466 formal lunches and dinners, 764 speeches and 133 media interviews. He hosted visiting foreign Ministers, businessmen and dignitaries and he spent more than 100 nights abroad in 23 countries promoting the financial, maritime and other business services industry of the UK. Every day was different; every day was special.

The talk will look at the reasons behind the City of London becoming the Financial Centre of the World, what the key success factors, opportunities and threats are, and what the role of the Lord Mayor is as the champion of the City both ancient and modern.

He is visiting Denmark as the organiser of a Rolls Royce Ghost owners tour of Northern Europe. 17 pre-War Rolls-Royces will participate in the tour, ranging from a 1913 Silver Ghost to a 1934 20/25.

Of the 17 vehicles, 10 will be Silver Ghosts. The tour will start in Denmark and finish in Helsinki, travelling through Denmark, Sweden, Latvia, Estonia and Finland. The majority of the cars will be on display at Tivoli for the day but we will also arrange for one of these vintage cars to be on display in the hotel lobby.

Date: Thursday, 5 July 2012 Time: 11.45 Venue: Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Non-members are very welcome. Please contact BCCD or go to www.bccd.dk for further information

Price in kroner for one unit of foreign currency

If you would like to attend then please send us an email (event@bccd.dk) or call +45 31 18 75 58

Date: 6 June 2012

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EMPLOYMENT

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

8 - 14 June 2012

17

Østerbro

I N T E R N AT I O N A L S C H O O L

After School ProgrAm coordinAtor Østerbro International School is looking for a dedicated and responsible person to lead its highly successful After School Program. This is a part-time position (20 hours weekly). The successful candidate must be qualified to work with children and have a relevant degree in Education. we Are looking for An exPerienced PerSon who cAn:

• Directly supervise a staff of five.

• Be responsible for daily supervision of students and program.

• Manage the coordination of attendance, staff hours, snack, etc.

• Engage students and families in program activities.

• Participate in family nights, and other family activities as planned.

• Meet with school teaching staff to plan enrichment activities related to academic goals.

• Assign employee work schedules, maintaining a 1:15 ratio.

• Attend monthly meetings with the headmaster.

• Perform other duties as assigned.

Please cV and cover letters by 8th June to: the headmaster (nedzat Asanovski) by e-mail: - na@oeis.dk

www.oEIS.dk

The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) seeks qualified applicants for the post of Editor in charge of ICES Publications.

The Editor will coordinate the editorial activities of ICES publications, including setting ICES editorial style, standards, and procedures for ICES publications.

ICES is an intergovernmental marine science organization that works with experts from 20 Member Countries and collaborates with more than 40 international organizations. The ICES Secretariat currently employs 52 staff members and is situated in Copenhagen. More details on http://www.ices.dk.

Please see ICES website for more information and the full job description. http://www.ices.dk/aboutus/vacancies.asp The successful applicant will possess: • A proven high degree of English-language proficiency (English as mother tongue an asset) • Training in editing practices, publication production, or similar expertise • At least 5 years experience in editing, including scientific subjects, publication production, and familiarity with international editorial and publishing conventions • Knowledge of scientific terminology • Empathy for the organization’s mission, and a genuine commitment to its goals and values • Commitment to setting and meeting tight – but realistic – deadlines • Ability to work in a team and appreciate a culture that recognises and rewards teamwork success Terms of appointment The part-time position is offered for a period of four years, with a possibility for extension The starting date is as soon as possible, and preferably not later than 1 September 2012 The place of work is Copenhagen, Denmark. English is the working language in the Secretariat The salary level is based on the UN C6 scale and will follow ICES terms and conditions, social benefits, and a pension scheme Candidates interested in this position should email a letter of application, CV, and recent photograph to applications@ices.dk. Please mark your application “EDITOR”.

Østerbro International School • Præstøgade 17 • 2100 Copenhagen Ø • Tel.: +45 70 20 63 68 • E-mail: info@oeis.dk

Biotech Job Vacancies Lundbeck

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Student Assistant IT Specialist Learning Consultant Global Pricing Analyst Manager Regional Market Access Manager Head of Section in Biometric Programming Market Analyst & Insights Partner Specialist in Biostatistics Interns

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Ferring Student, Global Regulatory Affairs, Development Projects

Leo-Pharma Regional Finance Director EU5+

For more information, deadlines and other job vacancies visit our webpage www.cphpost.dk/jobvacancies

18

CULTURE

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

8 - 14 June 2012

BEN HAMILTON

M

ANY PREDICTED that Mads Mikkelsen would climb another rung on the Hollywood ladder following his acceptance of the best actor award at Cannes, but few would have guessed he would have jumped right to the top by landing the lead part in a TV series that could easily become the decade’s biggest.

Mikkelsen learned this week that he has beaten off extremely tough competition to play Dr Hannibal Lecter in the upcoming NBC series ‘Hannibal’. It is one of the most coveted roles of 2013.

Following in the footsteps of other successful TV series in which the main character is a serial killer (‘The Sopranos’, ‘Dexter’), it features arguably the most popular cinematic antihero of the last 30 years.

During that time, the Lithuanian-born doctor has been one of the central characters in five films: ‘Manhunter’ (1986), ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ (1991), ‘Hannibal’ (2001), ‘Red Dragon’ (2002) and ‘Hannibal Rising’ (2007).

The most successful of these, ‘The Silence of the Lambs’, became only the third film in history to win the four main Oscar

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Country’s most famous actor set to become one of the biggest names around

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Mikkelsen rising: Mega-stardom beckons with ‘Hannibal’ role Who is ...

Thomas Vinterberg?

ELISE BEACOM A Danish film director How did he start out?

Actually, he’s one of those really annoying high-achievers. As soon as he graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 1993, he won the jury award at the Munich International Festival of Film Schools for his movie ‘Sidste Omgang’.

Mikkelsen will have a tough task being as compelling as Anthony Hopkins was as Hannibal

it be successful, it is likely to run for another six seasons. Hugh Dancy (‘The Big C’) has signed up to play FBI agent Will Graham, the main character in Thomas Harris’s book that introduced the character of Lecter, ‘Red Dragon’ (1981).

The series creator is Bryan Fuller (‘Heroes’, ‘Pushing Daisies’), and the executive producer list reads like a who’s who of US primetime television, includ-

awards (film, director, actor and actress). Anthony Hopkins won the best actor award for playing Lecter, despite only having 16 minutes on screen. And in 2003, Lecter was named the best villain of all time on the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 greatest screen characters.

The series will be filmed over the summer and is expected to debut in the US in November and run for 13 episodes. Should

ing Sarah Colleton (‘Dexter’) and Jesse Alexander (‘Lost’).

David Slade (‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’) will direct the pilot.

The casting caps a fantastic couple of months for an actor who until recently was Denmark’s most successful movie star, but a character actor in Hollywood at best – despite his outing as the main Bond villain in ‘Casino Royale’ (2006). Indeed, it was only last year that

a journalist noticed he had recently appeared in no less than four films playing a man with a disfigured or missing eye.

But winning the Cannes prize for best actor for his role in Thomas Vinterberg’s ‘The Hunt’ clearly opened the world’s eyes to his talent, and his role in ‘Hannibal’ could see him leave the monocular moniker of Oneeyed Mads well and truly behind him.

FRANZISKA BORK PETERSEN

Sidste Skrig

W

ITH THE season’s last quadruple bill, the Royal Danish Ballet wanted to give its audience an impression of what’s going on in contemporary ballet and dance.

But choreographic trifles easily turn into kitsch when they are blown up so as to match the institutional and spatial dimensions of the Royal Danish Ballet. Presenting ‘Sidste Skrig’ (All the Rage) at the Playhouse instead of one of the operas wasn’t much help here and a misfit for ‘Chroma’, the evening’s first piece, which was somewhat out of the others’ league.

Wayne McGregor’s ‘Chroma’ was initially created for the Royal Ballet in London in 2006 and is already considered a ballet masterpiece. To an orchestral arrangement of music by the White Stripes, it emphasises the artificiality and precision of ballet and dazzles with a choreography bursting of tension. In ‘Chroma’, movements do not reveal dramatic action

as in the classical story ballets, but repel the audience’s interpretative attempts with a steely sharpness.

This mode of performance is not one of the Royal Danish Ballet dancers’ big strengths.

What were jabbing stings in London turn into dragging stretches, and even the members of the company who are actually able to carry out McGregor’s extremely challenging movements struggle at times to avoid their big ballerina grins and dramatic gestures.

Tina Tarpgaard, the Dane amongst the evening’s choreographers, has previously produced technologically ambitious pieces that did not always look as interesting on stage as they sounded on paper. ‘DEW’ holds some positive surprises.

In its best moments, Tarpgaard’s first work for classically trained dancers is an intimate movement study in which the qualities of the dance are correlated with those of the video projections. Corps dancers Louise Østergaard, Gábor Baunoch, Alexander Bozinoff and soloist Christina Michanek give their best to make ‘DEW’ go beyond the gimmicky.

HENRIK STENBERG

Too many kitschy elements to enrich or bewitch

Did he then burn out like a child star?

No, quite the contrary. He cofounded the Dogme 95 movement and his first Dogme film, ‘Festen’ (1998), won him the Jury Prize at Cannes even though he was not listed as the director.

‘Festen’, that’s the one about incest isn’t it?

Yeah, it’s about a birthday party celebrating a gross old man called Helge. His son gives a revealing speech about bath time with Daddy.

Sounds a bit sick – is Vinterberg mentally sound?

He grew up in a hippy commune and used to run around naked while the hippies drank, smoked, danced and did god-knows-whatelse around him. More likely, his experience living among boho daisy-munchers and hanging out in Christiania helped shape his creativity, later translating into some pretty crazy film-making.

I don’t speak Danish – what about his English films?

‘Impenetrable songe: what “really goes on inside people”, but did we need to see their insides as well

In ‘Impénétrable songe’ (Impenetrable Dreams), French choreographer Patrick Delcroix undertakes the declared attempt to “figure out what really goes on inside people”. To do so, he puts four women in satin panties and three men in longsleeved outfits, bathes the stage in black and red light and adds some smoke – evoking an effect that apparently aims at the ‘atmospheric’. While the dancers – amongst them Tim Matiakis, who impressed throughout the evening – master the choreography’s sometimes cumber-

some movements gracefully, ‘Impénétrable songe’ overall remains trivial.

Finally, triviality comes close to kitsch in Yuri Possokhov’s ‘ergo ubi NARCISSUM per devia rura vagantem’, despite a remarkable duet between Sebastian Kloborg and Alban Lendorf.

It is laudable that the Royal Danish Ballet cares about the future of its art form. Currently, it is the only Danish institution with both the artistic and financial capacity to invite top class international talent. But with ‘Sidste Skrig’, they don’t

seem too sure themselves about the relevance of those they label “some of the best young choreographers from Denmark and abroad”.

The performance’s carelessly compiled programme reflects that. While considerable booklets are printed for more traditional performances, filled with essays that place the evening’s pieces in their cultural context, we’re left with the choreographers’ bios and their hardly enlightening quotes. Is there really nothing more to say about contemporary ballet?

His Danish films are much better than his English ones – that’s for sure. ‘Dear Wendy’ (2005) was one of his attempts. The film, scripted by Lars von Trier, portrayed a bunch of dorky teenage misfits who start a gun club that, predictably, ends in a bloodbath.

The film flopped, selling only 14,521 tickets in Denmark – and ruined The Zombies’ music for everyone who saw it.

What’s he got going on now?

His latest film, ‘The Hunt’ competed for the Palm d’Or at Cannes this year, but failed to win. But Mads Mikkelsen was named best actor for his role in the film and dedicated the prize to Vinterberg.

DENMARK THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

8 - 14 June 2012

19

Fighting for the fatherland: with pride or with perturbation

SHANDANA MUFTI

E

UROPE stood on the edge of the precipice in 1914, as countries across the continent began mobilising their armies for what was expected to be a short war.

Though Denmark remained neutral during the First World War, 30,000 Danish soldiers from North Schleswig were called into service to fight for Germany.

Schleswig and Holstein had been Danish duchies since 1773, but were not part of Denmark.

German nationalist sentiment, which was awoken during the Napoleonic Wars between 1792 and 1815, called for the two regions to be absorbed into the German Confederation as a single state, and following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Holstein was incorporated into the confederation. This prompted a countermovement in Denmark, where nationalists sought to detach the two regions and incorporate Schleswig into Denmark.

In March 1848, an uprising led by Schleswig-Holstein’s German majority and aided by the Prussian military started a threeyear war between Denmark and Prussia, which ended with the London Protocol of 1852. Schleswig-Holstein was returned to Denmark, and the Danish government agreed to stop pursuing closer ties with Schleswig than with Holstein.

In 1863, under pressure from a liberal government, Danish monarch Christian IX signed

pro-Danish and pro-German factions of North Schleswig was evident. The pro-Germans shared the prevailing sentiment of German nationalist pride, while the Danes felt they bore a heavy duty, forced to fight for an army they wanted to see defeated.

Danish resentment was fuelled further by German worries that pro-Danish soldiers would try to escape over the border to neutral Denmark, which led to a general reluctance to grant those soldiers leave. Some 2,400 soldiers successfully fled to Denmark, and German authorities took decisive actions against their families.

However, there were many in the Danish community who encouraged the soldiers to tow the line, and those who had not joined up to enlist. It was hoped that fulfilling their duty to the German Empire would increase their bargaining power in their quest for a plebiscite. War also appealed to the soldiers’ sense of adventure, though this quickly faded as an end to the war began to look less and less likely.

When the war finally ended on 11 November 1918, about 30,000 Danish men from North Schleswig had seen service. About 5,200 had died, leaving behind 1,500 widows and 5,000 orphans. Survivors bore physical and mental scars – their reminders of the brutality of war.

The plebiscite promised in 1866 was not held until 1920, when 70 percent of the northern part of North Schleswig voted to join Denmark, while 80 percent of the southern population voted to remain German.

Today, a decision taken by the Culture Ministry to with-

draw funds previously allocated to renovating the graves of fallen Danish soldiers in a French cemetery has come under fire from the inhabitants of what was once a German territory.

The cemetery was built in 1924 and is the resting place of 79 Danish soldiers. The graves are in need of restoration.

“Other countries maintain their memorials abroad, and

if the Danish ones just rot, it sends the message that we do not care about our fallen soldiers,” Ellen Trane Nørby (Venstre), a member of parliament, told Berlingske.

WIKIMEDIA.ORG

Half of the 30,000 Danes recruited by the German Empire in North Schleswig were happy to do their duty, while the remainder did so, quietly hoping they would lose

a new constitution for Denmark and Schleswig. Germany declared this was in violation of the 1852 protocol, and in January 1864, Austria and Prussia declared war on Denmark. Danish resistance was swiftly crushed in two short campaigns. Christian IX ceded Schleswig to Prussia and Holstein to Austria.

The distribution of the territories was deliberately chosen by the Prussian minister-president, Otto von Bismarck, who went on to become the first chancellor of Germany, to create friction between Austria and Prussia, and in 1866, war broke out between the two. Austria was defeated after seven weeks, and Prussia annexed Holstein and Lauenburg, merging the regions with Schleswig to create the Schleswig-Holstein province.

The Danish-speaking majority of North Schleswig thus found itself under Prussian rule.

After the unification of the German Empire in 1871, the new issue at hand was the fate of North Schleswig. The Treaty of Prague, which ended the AustroPrussian War, provided that the region would be returned to Denmark if a majority of the population elected to do so in a plebiscite. Prussia and Austria annulled this provision in 1878, leaving the future of the area’s Danes in German hands.

As part of the empire, the Danish population of North Schleswig was expected to contribute to the German war effort. On 31 July 1914, Germany prepared to declare war on Russia. All able-bodied men aged 18-44 were told to report to the barracks by 2 August, where they would receive one week of training before being sent to the frontline.

The difference between the

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