- Danish coalition government cancel bank holiday to enhance defense spending.
- The Social Democrat-Liberal-Moderate coalition is the first since 1970s.
- Reaching NATO’s 2% defense budget goal three years early is a primary priority.
Denmark ‘s new coalition government plans to abolish a bank holiday, in order to increase defense spending.
This unusual coalition between center-left and center-right parties, the first since the 1970s, has just recently reached its first agreement on a proposal.
The new government is made up of the center-left Social Democrat party, the center-right Liberal Party, and the moderate party.
Mette Frederiksen, the current Social Democrat prime minister, will remain in office.
After receiving backlash throughout the summer for her administration’s handling of a nationwide mink cull at fur farms at the height of the pandemic, Ms. Frederiksen called a snap election in October.
Despite having received the most votes in the election last month, Ms. Frederiksen delivered her government’s resignation to Queen Margrethe because she wanted to build a larger coalition.
When the Liberals and the Moderates decided to abandon their calls for an impartial legal investigation into the mink cull, she was able to come to an understanding with her longtime adversaries.
The Social Democrat-Liberal-Moderate coalition, which was presented on Thursday as the previous government was removed from office, was the outcome.
Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, the head of the Liberal Party, has been named deputy prime minister and defence minister, replacing former prime minister and moderate leader Lars Lokke Rasmussen.
Reaching NATO’s aim of 2% of GDP for defense spending three years early is one of the coalition’s top priorities. Since Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, the topic of defense has dominated political discourse in Denmark.
In an effort to increase productivity and economic activity, Ms. Frederiksen has declared that one of Denmark’s 11 official holidays will be eliminated.
The “Great Prayer Day,” or Store Bededag, which was declared a public holiday in 1686 and always falls on the Friday before the fourth Sunday after Easter, is probably going to get the axe.
First, the religious community in Denmark has criticized the measure.
The president of the clergy association, Pernille Vigso Bagge, told Danish newspaper that she was “saddened” by the prospect of losing the day, and said that scrapping it left both priests and people waiting to be confirmed “in a logistical nightmare” as the Store Bededag is traditionally a big confirmation day.
The Dean of Roskilde Cathedral, Sophie Olander, told Media: “We need holidays, as gathering times to get down to speed and have time for prayer and reflection. It is a shame to have a society where you think it is not important.
Business owners are also worried. According to baker Iver Hansen, who spoke to Media, the holiday was a significant source of money for his company and that it would cost him between 20,000 and 30,000 Danish kroner (£2,300 and £3,460) in lost sales if it were abolished.
Asked about the decision to scrap the holiday, Ms. Frederiksen said: “There is war in Europe, and we need to strengthen our defenses And that will require everyone to contribute a little more.”
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