After nine weeks of governing without an actual government, Denmark has stayed true to over a century of tradition and formed yet another coalition government.
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This time, however, it is a government that almost nobody wanted but got because of the Danes’ particular practice of “democracy.”
Because the new government is a minority government that cannot be sure of implementing any policies without the tacit approval of a party or parties outside the government (something the Scandinavians call “negative parliamentarianism”), it can be a disastrous path to follow and one that can easily topple a sitting government.
Yesterday, after nine painful weeks of back and forth negotiation and two changes in “royal mediators,” the Danes decided to scrap a previous “red and blue” (conservative and liberal) coalition and instead embrace a full-blown left-wing one that includes the Social Democrats (Socialdemokratiet),
The Socialist People’s Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti) and the Radical Left (Radikale Venstre) along with a small swing party, the Moderates (Moderater). The latter, while professing to stand for conservative value,s was comfortable in selling out those values to be a part of the new government. Its head, Mr. Lars Løkke Rasmussen, was himself a former prime minister and a former foreign minister (now acting foreign minister until the new government is in power).
Critics claim that Mr. L-R has betrayed his party’s platform and was only concerned with keeping his minister’s job and that’s why he agreed to be a part of the new coalition. Others claim that he joined the coalition to “keep it honest” and keep it from going overboard when they get the power to levy taxes and spend the citizens’ money on new or expanded welfare projects and increase the size of government like the former prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, did while in office.
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The jury is still out on which motive is the true one, whether Mr. L-R exhibited real cleverness by staying inside the political circle like a conservative-friendly “mole” that would pull the fire alarm and not support the government if it decided to go completely red. In any event, this new “wag the dog” government has one party, “Enhedslisten,” which is the absolute reddest of the red parties outside the government that has promised to support the governing coalition by giving it their vote while still wielding an effective veto. Then there is the party inside the government (“Moderater” Mr. L-R’s party) with the same power.
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One certain outcome of the new coalition will be the guarantee of a dedicated opposition by the parties that are pro-growth and support smaller government. It will help solidify the “Blue bloc” (conservatives) parties on the right into a strong and viable opposition which is expected to dispense with in-fighting and focus their energy on obstructing the purely ideological policies of the new government and possibly topple the new coalition before it has a chance to put down roots.
The first major test will be the new budget or “finanslov” in Denmark. The budget for the coming year is normally passed before Jan. 1st because the fiscal year follows the calendar year. The Constitution requires that a budget be submitted to the parliament no later than four months before the start of the fiscal year, and if it appears the budget will not be passed in time, the government must introduce a Provisional Appropriation Bill. The budget is usually introduced in late August and the final act is normally adopted in November or December.
Tomorrow, the negotiations will begin to see who gets the 24 ministerial posts which carry with them plenty of benefits and hefty salaries ($260K/year for lower tier ministers). Those who manage to last one year as a minister qualify for a partial ministerial pension that gives them about $1,500/month for life. I have no doubt that those first-time ministers will do everything in their power to hang on for at least a year. Time will tell how long their tails can wag the Danish dog.
Stephen Helgesen is a retired American diplomat specializing in international trade. He has lived and worked in 30 countries over the course of 25 years under the Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton, and G.W. Bush administrations. He is the author of fifteen books, seven of them on American politics. His latest book deals with the Danish-American relationship, written in both Danish and English. He has written more than 1,500 articles on politics, economics, and social trends. He now lives in Denmark and is a frequent political commentator in Danish media. He can be reached at: [email protected]
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