Given that 2022 brought us a general election, our ‘Dane of the Year’ should definitely be a politician.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Alex Vansplagh and Inge Støjberg – the respective leaders of the Social Democrats, the Moderates, the Liberal Alliance and the Danish Democrats – could all have been worthy inclusions based on their achievements.
But the time it took to form a new government has somehow soured the milk and forced politicians into more U-turns than the minions in ‘The Italian Job’.
Their tendency was to disappoint rather than lead by example to such an extent that no one really knows where they stand anymore.
Not the absolute worst
However, Corona has gone well, with Denmark as a leading example of how not to let the virus dictate how we should live. Better to be here than a country still drowning in face masks and unnecessary precautions.
It was also good to see that Denmark led the way with its loss and damage pledge to compensate the poor countries that are hardest hit by climate change. It underlined its status as a green trailblazer, even if the issue was somewhat sidelined by the election and certainly influenced other countries at COP27.
And its response to the war in Ukraine has also been encouraging. From the public raising countless aids to the generous state contributions and reception of the refugees, the country can feel rightfully proud. There are plans for Kyiv and Copenhagen to become twin cities – proof that the support has been well received.
So all in all, Denmark didn’t have a complete stinker in 2022, despite experiencing the highest inflation since 1982. More of the same is expected during the first half of 2023, and a worldwide recession looks almost certain, but in the immortal words of D:Ream: Things can only get better!
Top Five
5 Queen Margrethe II
(photo: Hasse Ferrold)
No one needs a reminder of what the Queen was doing in 2022 and how irritated her ever so annoying son is. But it must be said: she speaks very sensibly and knows how to speak from the heart. Her contribution to HRH cutting will not only be felt here but soon in many countries and her name will be spoken in reverence. Watch this space!
4 Esbjerg Municipality
November brought the news that Esbjerg Municipality’s four-day working week experiment has been a great success. Since 2021, 520 of its employees have worked four ten-hour days a week, and close to 90 percent are said to be extremely happy. Three-day weekends can become a reality for many of us!
3 Ukrainians in Denmark
By December, it was confirmed that more than half of the Ukrainian refugees who are entitled to work in Denmark are in work. Around 28,000 were granted residence permits under a special law that was quickly adopted by the Danish Parliament in the spring. And of the 54 percent who are willing to take up work, 6,159 have found jobs – an excellent effort!
2 Rasmus Kofoed
(photo: Facebook/Geranium)
When Rasmus won gold in the prestigious Bocuse d’Or in 2011, few thought he would ever top it, but in July confirmation came that his restaurant Geranium had been named the World’s Best Restaurant. Years of playing second fiddle to Noma, despite being considered the best restaurant in Denmark by Michelin for most of the decade, were forgotten as Kofoed’s team basked in the glory. No one can say anymore that Danish cuisine starts and ends with Noma.
1 Morten Meldal
Most of us have no idea what Morten Meldal was doing – something to do with click chemistry – but then again, if it wasn’t something seriously complicated, it’s unlikely he would have won Denmark’s first Nobel Prize this century – and just 14 in history. The University of Copenhagen professor won the award together with two foreign colleagues, but from the reaction of research colleagues and the public as a whole it was clear that he shares the award with the whole country. Because that is the Danish way.
Bottom five
5 Michael Bojesen
The past finally caught up with Michael Bojesen, the Danish director of Malmö Opera since 2017, who was fired in light of allegations of inappropriate behavior dating back several decades. The drop was a comment about a female opera singer’s breasts.
4 Xing Er
The male panda in Copenhagen Zoo is definitely running out of time! Xing Er and Mao Sun have a 40-hour window each year, and this April will be the pair’s fourth attempt. Apparently, Xing Er prefers eating bamboo to doing business!
3 Peter Schmeichel
(photo: Christian Wenande)
The former international, who will be loved forever by fans for his heroics at Euro 1992, doesn’t care what the minority thinks – about everything he does. For the 2022 World Cup, Schmeichel took a lucrative job at a Qatari TV channel, prompting one expert to speculate: “We probably just have to face the fact that Peter Schmeichel doesn’t care what the Danes think of him. The legacy is not that important to him.”
2 Pyrus
The number of Christmas calendar TV broadcasts with elf Pyrus decreases from minute to minute. TV2 has vowed never to air ‘Alletiders Juleman’ again because it contains a scene where children are black-faced for playing ‘negerbollaer’ (black balls), the chocolate-covered cream offering better known as flødeboller. Jokes about Chinese people have also been condemned.
1 Søren Pape Poulsen
(photo: Facebook/Søren Pape Poulsen)
Somehow he has managed to remain the Conservative leader despite a disastrous general election. Heading into the fall, things had looked so rosy, but then the tabloids started digging into allegations involving his husband, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, whom he promptly divorced. DR’s political correspondent Christine Cordsen warned readers that it would be unwise to draw a connection between recent events and the divorce and said she did not think the affair would hinder Pape’s bid to become prime minister. She was wrong.
Source: The Nordic Page
