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In Denmark, there is a tug of war over the reopening. The Prime Minister is accused of leading in a very special way.
Schools for all but the youngest have mostly been closed since Christmas. Graduating students, like the ones Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen visited this week, can now be in school half the time. P.S! There is a requirement to maintain a distance of two meters in schools, but the recommendation does not apply within classes. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen, Ritzau Scanpix / NTB
Infection rates are far from the peak around Christmas time. The number of hospitalized patients is decreasing. The level of risk has been reduced by one level for all areas except the Copenhagen region. The arrows point in the right direction in Denmark. Daily infection rates are now lower than in Norway, according to figures from the European Infection Control Agency.
During the pandemic, Norway has been hot on the heels of Denmark. Denmark detected the British mutation before Norway and closed again at Christmas.
But now the Danish government is being criticized for being too strict. Many school-age children have been home since Christmas. Fifth grade 8 can only be in school one day a week. Then they must be outdoors.
I want the children to go back to school
The opposition is impatient and is pushing to open up more. Conservative parties want more children to go back to school.
On Thursday they had some progress. Among other things, ten people will be allowed to meet outdoors, compared to five so far. Some more graduate students will be allowed to go to school.
Throughout the crown pandemic, the Danish prime minister has become a strong and active leader. But some believe that it has become too strong.
There are several things that cause:
Mette Frederiksen wanted to take the lead in vaccine production and went to Israel to learn. Here with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz. Photo: Avigail Uzi, AP / NTB
The criticism has not spread
But Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is very strong.
– Measured in opinion polls, Mette Frederiksen and the Social Democrats are strong. This has been the case since the beginning of the crisis, writes political science professor Jørgen Grønnegård Christensen to Aftenposten.
He led the group that investigated the government’s handling of the pandemic last spring. Christensen thinks this fits a pattern. Governments that have managed to cope with the crisis without collapsing, for example in health care, are rewarded by the electorate.
But Christensen confirms that criticism of Frederiksen and the government is on the rise. It started with the mink case this fall. Then the government has come under fire for the reopening and the Infection Control Act.
– But it has not had a negative effect on the popularity of Mette Frederiksen among voters, Christensen writes to Aftenposten.
Millions of Danish minks died last fall. But then it turned out that the decision was made against professional advice and without a proper legal basis. Photo: RITZAU / NTB
Do the others become extras?
The opposition was overwhelmed in the early debates about the reopening. Then the Prime Minister invited each of the party leaders. The goal is to agree on a plan for the reopening.
The meetings were documented on the prime minister’s Facebook and Instagram accounts with posted photos of the prime minister and party leaders.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has a strong following on social media and made sure to post photos of herself and party leaders when they discussed the reopening. Pernille Vermund (left) wore a very special shirt for the occasion. – I didn’t want to be part of their power play. Photo: Photo collage from Mette Frederiksen’s Facebook account
Sister Marie Serup, who is a political commentator and former Liberal Party adviser, tells the Berlingske newspaper that the images make the other party leaders appear as extras. Last weekend, Troels Johannesen, an expert in political communication on social media, called the images a tactical roar from party leaders.
Meetings make Frederiksen seem inclusive. This is how she responds to criticism that she is stubborn, Johannesen tells the newspaper.
Party leader Søren Pape looked quite sad in the photo with Mette Frederiksen, and even posted an analysis of the image.
One of the party leaders, Søren Pape, did not look very happy in the picture. He says it’s because he thought he didn’t achieve much.
– It will not be a piece in the games of power.
Another party leader, Pernille Vermund in the Nye Borgerlige party, understood what awaited him. When his turn came, he had put on a T-shirt with a very special message: Fight against power.
– I will not be a piece in your cynical power play. So he can be allowed to be part of my game, Vermund tells Berlingske about the Prime Minister’s photo shoot.
There have been street demonstrations against the government’s coronation measures and several people have been charged after making hateful comments against the prime minister, including him. But some believe that free speech is under pressure. Photo: RITZAU / NTB
Corona researchers, Jørgen Grønnegård Christensen, have noted that the research report on corona management has not changed Frederiksen’s position.
– Do you have any idea what will determine Frederiksen’s legacy after the crown crisis?
– There are two sides to that problem. One concerns the popularity of the voters. If I largely manage to leave the pandemic behind this summer, I suppose in a positive legacy. The second applies to history books. There, I think that the very centralized and quite severe handling of the crisis, such as the course of the mink case, can give some critical comments, Christensen writes to Aftenposten.
