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This page presents some very personal views on Denmark. However, it should be read in the light of the fact that Denmark is fundamentally a democratic and free country with strong traditions of exercising that freedom. This site is, however critical, in itself a celebration of the basic principle of freedom of speech upon which Europe - and thereby Denmark - is built.

I'm a Dane born in 1960 in Copenhagen. I grew up in the Copenhagen suburbs and emigrated definitively in 1993, aged 33. Hence, this page is based on impressions from the 1970s and 1980s.

And now to the real stuff ...

"There is something rotten in the State of Denmark." William Shakespeare.

The Danes believe Denmark is the best country in the world, that Danish beer is the best in the world, and that anything they do is better than anywhere else in the world. But however contradictory it may seem, between them, they don't like to see others being successful. Thus, they do everything they can to bring down the brightest amongst them. The communist tax system that has brought the highest overall taxation level in the world is an effective way of doing so. As you shall see later, the colour of the national flag corresponds to the political system.

People quoted on this site are real persons, and the stories I have been sent by these persons are shown as I have received them. A few readers who don't like to see certains things on print have accused me of making it up. That accusation is groundless and false. People have sent their stories to me on their own initiative. If I wanted to make a point, I would not make it look like a quote from someone else. Whether the stories told by the persons are true is beyond my possibility to verify.

Read the Disclaimer.

Janteloven
The Invisible Denmark Wall
The Taxes Updated 7/11/2007
Fraud and Corruption in the Legal System
Exported Products and Foreigners' Perception of Denmark
The Smokers
The Political Parties Updated 7/11/2007
The Welfare State Updated 7/11/2007
The Unions
The Beer
The Food
The Language
Why?
A Story Updated 7/11/2007

Janteloven

In order to understand the Danish society, one must be familiar with Janteloven (the law of Jante - an invented town from the Danish novel "En Flygtning Krydser sit Spor" from 1933 by Axel Sandemose):

1. You shouldn't think you're anything special
2. You shouldn't think you're as much as us
3. You shouldn't think you're smarter than us
4. You shouldn't think you're better than us
5. You shouldn't think you know more than us
6. You shouldn't think you are more than us
7. You shouldn't think you're any good
8. You shouldn't laugh at us
9. You shouldn't think anybody likes you
10. You shouldn't think you can teach us anything

Thus, don't try to flaunt your wealth if you're one of the few; don't pretend that you're better, smarter or more clever than others, whether it's true or not. If you progress above the average level, be it intellectually or materially, then be discreet about it. That is, unless you're an intellectual of the correct political observance: Extreme left wing. Any attempt not to conform will be punished through extreme taxes, envy, and maybe even sabotage by fellow citizens and the government. This may happen through a variety of subtle ways. People who emigrate are subject to envy and therefore the wrath of the Jantelov, because the only reason for emigrating that a well-conditioned Dane can think of is to avoid paying tax and thereby evading their duty to show solidarity with the less wealthy. Also, by emigrating, you show that you think you are better than other Danes, and that is unforgiveable. Unfortunately, communistic and socialistic indoctrination sets in from an early age. Because of the high taxes, both parents are forced to work and leave their children at institutions, where the personnel has every opportunity to implant the "correct" ideas in the children. Thus, many Danes actually believe in the destructive regime.

As a practical example of the Jantelov, an expat Dane who bought a Renault Espace in Denmark in order to export it elsewhere in Europe, and as such free of Danish taxes, was told by the car dealer that sometimes those at Renault Denmark who prepared the documents required to register the car abroad apparently delayed the documents as a symptom of envy towards expat Danes who bought expensive cars that Danish residents normally cannot afford. It's a true story!

Many countries allow their citizens to vote at parliamentary elections even when expatriated. Not Denmark. The moment a Dane puts his/her Jantelov-disobedient foot outside the Danish border, he/she loses all parliamentary voting rights. This part of the Jantelov is even written in the Constitution. A recent modification allows expat Danes who stay outside Denmark for less than 2 years to vote, though.

Still don't believe me? Then read this extract of the Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen's speech to the annual assembly of Danish Industry on the 27 September 2004:

"Vi skal være bedre til at anerkende, påskønne og belønne de mennesker, der tør, kan og vil. Succes skal ikke avle misundelse, men anerkendelse. ... Der er mange eksempler på, at hvis erhvervsfolk skaber en succes, fremkalder det misundelse, og der er en undertone af, at så har de nok snydt sig til det. Det er den tankegang, vi ofte har været stillet overfor."

And for those who don't yet understand this germanic language, here is a translation:

"We must become better at recognising, appreciating and rewarding those persons who dare, can and will. Success shall not breed envy, but recognition. ... There are many examples that if businessmen create a success, it evokes envy, and there is an undertone that they have probably cheated to succeed. That is the mentality we have often been confronted with."

In December 2005, someone from a Danish company who was looking for a translator and read my professional site that presents my services sent me the following comments:

"Hjemmesiden oser i øvrigt af et ego som virker noget ude af trit med dansk tradition."

In English, this means:

"By the way, your web site oozes of an ego that somehow seems out of step with Danish tradition."

No further comments required on that one.

An American reader who wishes to remain anonymous sent me the following comment in October 2004:

"I have visited Denmark many many times. I know all about that frightening "Jantelov". What nerve these people have! This lame attitude that their world is perfect and everything else non Danish is rubbish them just proves how out of it they really are. Knowing that this idiotic unwritten law exists in their minds and just to piss them off, I go out of my way to brag about anything and everything. Everytime I would return from DK to the US, everyone would ask how my time in "Amsterdam" was. Is that ignorant? In many ways yes but it also proves how insigificantly small Denmark is to the world. I am convinced that since birth, these people have been programmed like robots. Everyone thinks, acts and pretty much looks exactly the same. Same styles (all stolen from other countries), same attitudes (jantelov) and same ridiculously liberal views (socialism). Forget about being a right winged American. You are an instant outcast. It is hilarious to see the faces of people when I mention something that does not coincide with the programmed computer chip in their tunnel vison minds. Mind you, I have met many wonderful people who live there too. Thing is, the majority of people never wander outside that political safety zone. Chatting with them is pretty much the same as chatting with an talking baby doll. Everyone pretty much says the same thing and political correctness runs rampant to the point where it turns my stomach. Ee can thank the completely biased and ridiculous foreign media for that one. To live there? Um, I'll pass thank you.........or is it "Mange Tak"? I will say that Scandinavia boasts the prettiest women on the planet. I defy any hetero male to walk down the "Strøget" (walking street) in Copenhagen on a sunny spring afternoon and not be completely overwhelmed at the gorgeous creatures that will pass by. That is the best thing about it. Well no, Carlsberg on tap is great too. I hate Faxe and Ceres and only drink Tuborg if there is no Carlsberg. They do have an edge over American brew but so what? Denmark is a perfect example of a country where everyone lives in a lethargic dream world and keep their eyes closed to the fact that their socialistic/communistic government is ripping them off hook line and sinker. With that I will say, thank GOODNESS for the United States where a person can think for themselves, be successful in life and not have to worry if the neighbor who lives 27 miles away is getting jealous of their progress."

Renata told me the following story in November 2004:

"Dear Finn, 
This is renata, we have been in contact before. I would like to write about what happened to our family in Denmark. In June 2000, my Danish husband and I together with three children came to Denmark. Why? According to my husband's opinion, it should have been a perfect country to take our kids. A bit of savings and a move to Denmark, then we could have more time for our family. I understood that we should have more possibilities of doing things together, find secure jobs and very honest people surrounding us. 

This is what happened to us: My husband got a job. Meanwhile, we were living in a rented house in a small town in Jutland. The security of him having a good job was great, as was knowing that everything should work out as planned. Our biggest dream was to own a house with a nice garden so our children could play and finally have a place to call their own. We started to look around for a house which we were able to afford at the time. After a few weeks looking and discussing carefully with the estate agent, we bought our house. There was a lot to renovate and do. We were used to hard work and we were trying to create a perfect humble home. It seemed that my husband's boss was more than jealous, so he told him that there was no more work for him. That was the first lie that we were faced with: The secure job that he never had. Automatically, our situation changed, but a few weeks later, my husband got another job in one of the richest and biggest companies in town. Too bad that his boss was an alcoholic who was very good at complaining and finding problems in everything. My husband worked there for two years and was fired by his boss who retired a month before he decided to fire him. He never had a chance to meet the new boss and keep his job. After that, we were in big trouble. 

At the same time, our daughter was confirmed. In Denmark, confirmation was the step into real and adult life. A few months after the confirmation, at the age of 13, our daughter started going to parties, drinking and smoking. For her, it was okay, because everyone else did it. It went on for a year, and we sent her to a boarding school that she wanted to go to. When she came home for the weekends, she was never home, she was partying the whole time and didn't come home at night. We were looking for her everywhere, but she never told us when or where she was going. She started to cut her arms and be very aggressive. At school, she shared a room with three other girls. Two of these girls were abused by their fathers, and the third was beaten and came from a divorced family. The two girls who were molested were also schizophrenic and had many problems that they shared with my daughter. She had many things to think about and went crazy herself. The community promised to cover the expenses of her school, but that ended up differently. The one who should be responsible for that wasn't there anymore. My daughter also should have had a psychologist from the community, but she only saw him twice. There are drugs and alcohol in school, and everyone pretends not to see it. 

Our economic and mental situation was devastating. We put our house for sale in March 2003. Another estate agent was responsible for selling our house. We gave them the keys to our place and we left for 2 months outside Denmark. When we came back, we had an electricity bill for 17,000 kr. (2,300 €) and a cut telephone wire. My husband was going out of his mind. The government would not help us financially because we owned a property [this is a classic example of the workings of the Jantelov. Property owners in Denmark are permanent targets of envy from others, because they are considered rich when owning property. The politically correct behaviour is to be poor and live in rented, social accommodation. Hence, property owners will be harassed by all available means by the administration, at least until they break down and sell. It doesn't matter if the rent is more expensive than the mortgage payments. What matters is that you are not property owner, because by being a property owner, you show that you think you are better than others, according to the wicked Jantelov. In places where rented and owned buildings are next to each other, it can be seen that those who live in the rented flats frown upon the "rich ones" in the owned flats. ed.]. So the first announcement about our house going on forced sale came fast. Then, the estate agent that sold us the house came by to assure us that they would be able to help saving our house by selling it. They convinced us that it was nonsense that the other estate agent was unable to sell a house for so long time, from March to November 2003. So again, the original estate agent acted quickly and advertised our house. Keeping the friendly smiles on their faces, they drove us to "the bottom of the sea". They said that they couldn't help in any way, but they sold the house a week after the auction. Even though we found a family member who was willing to help us and loan us money, one lawyer decided not to accept it. All those people are liars and cheaters, wearing elegant clothes, smiling nicely and ripping your life to pieces with cold blood and no mercy. But the worst is that there is no justice over those people in Denmark. We can't find a lawyer to take our case, because we need 35,000 kr. (4,700 €) before anybody will talk to us and take our case seriously. Right now, our family is living out of Denmark with big scars that are very hard to heal. All names and telephone numbers will be given if requested. We went trough living hell surrounded by communists and ignorants, which is something that you can't describe in words, but something that stays with you for as long as you live. The plague of hate, jealousy and hopelessness is what these robot-like people are."

A more subtle example of the workings of the Jantelov is the law for foreigners voted in 2002 and amended in 2003. According to the law, a foreign spouse to an expat Dane returning to Denmark cannot obtain the right of residence in Denmark if the family as a whole is more attached to a foreign country than to Denmark, unless the person already living in Denmark has held Danish nationality for at least 28 years (EU/EEA excepted due to the right of free movement). Also, a foreign spouse of less than 24 years of age cannot expect to be given a residence permit at all. In order to obtain a visa for his/her spouse, the Dane must furthermore provide a bank guarantee of 50,000 DKK (6,711 €), and his income must be higher than a government-defined amount to prove that he can support his spouse, the level of income defined being higher than what is in many cases sufficient in real life. They must also dispose of a suitable dwelling, but the requirement is administered with such rigidity that couples are being denied entry to Denmark because 2 square metres were missing. A delay of 6-8 months while evil servants in the evil Udlændingestyrelsen (Directorate for Foreigners) deal with the applications provides for further problems for married couples. A young Dane who has married abroad and lived a number of years in the country of his/her spouse (or elsewhere) will thus find it nearly impossible to return to Denmark with his family. As we see from the Jantelov, any expat Dane who may have had success abroad will be seen to have neglected his/her Jantelov obligations and as such should expect no mercy from Denmark or other Danes. It is a sadistic pleasure for the evil servants working in the administration to deny a Danish-foreign family the right to repatriate to Denmark or - even better - to ruin their family. As seen by other Danes, the expat has only himself to blame, as he could have avoided his problems by doing as the majority of Danes - remain in Denmark and marry a Dane - instead of going abroad because he believed he was better than the average Dane. Danes can thereby justify their belief in the Jantelov by pointing out the disasters waiting for those who do not conform. 

In July 2004, a report from the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights criticised the Danish government for this. Below are some extracts from this report:

I (7): "Some of the provisions analysed below may, moreover, prejudice the effective enjoyment of certain rights guaranteed in the European Convention of Human Rights and other international treaties."

I (10) (discussing the application of age criteria): "These provisions do not in my view guarantee the principle of equality before the law."

I (11): "I was also informed of cases where the application of the law resulted in differentiated treatment depending on the economic situation of the persons concerned, which again raises serious concerns in terms of equality before the law, in particular, regarding the respect for Article 14 of the Convention, which prohibits discrimination on grounds such as property. ... The requirement of a bank guarantee of 50.000 DKK [6.711 €] - which is only released after seven years and insofar as it has not been used for possible social assistance for the couple - can be very difficult to obtain for persons with low incomes and few possessions. Moreover, the requirements are re-assessed every two years, and if the person residing in Denmark has in the meantime become unemployed or had to move to a smaller apartment, the residence permit of his or her spouse can be discontinued. Being under a constant threat of separation from one's spouse or having to move abroad in order to continue family life, inevitably creates a significant strain and anxiety for the persons concerned. Such restrictive criteria risk conspiring against the efforts to encourage greter integration."

I (17) (about the problem of children between 15 and 18 not having an automatic right to residence): "Such a situation fails to secure the legal certainty that ought to surround the determination of fundamental rights."

Many such married couples consisting of a Danish expat and a foreign spouse having found themselves unwanted in Denmark have sought refuge in Sweden or Germany, countries that respect EU's immigration rules for EU nationals and their foreign spouses. Such couples have then been able to work in Denmark by commuting across the borders. However, in breach of EU's rules for free movement of EU nationals and their spouses, Denmark has refused them entry to settle and live in Denmark. In  May 2006, the leading Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten asked the European Commission to state if the Danish government's practice was legal, to which the Commission gave the obvious reply that it is not. It is clear that human and family values are not important in Denmark, and particularly not when it comes to protecting such values and rights for those who have dared doing anything unusual.

The government is justifying the harsh and inhuman measures with the need to curb immigration and notably Turkish citizens living in Denmark but going back to Turkey to marry. They also want to curb forced marriages. It is somewhat ironic that the measures now force many Danes to marry someone else than they want just because their chosen partner is a foreigner. There is no end to the hypocrisy and inhumanity of the Danish government in this issue. The restrictions were a demand from the government's only support party, Dansk Folkeparti (Danish People's Party), a right-wing anti-immigration party. Without curbs on immigration, the government would have lost its necessary votes from the far right. Trashing a number of Danish families was the price to pay for remaining in government. The choice was easy for any power-hungry politician.

I do not pronounce myself on the need for curbing immigration or not but only on the unacceptable impact on Danes marrying foreigners.

The Taxes

Denmark is the master of tax. According to international statistics, Denmark has the highest overall taxation in the world. The following is a selection of the taxes:

• A complex system of income taxes takes up to about 70% of peoples' salaries.
• Plundering of personal pension funds. One of the underlying principles is that the funds are allowed to grow with the inflation plus 2-3%. Any revenue above that is confiscated as tax. In fact, the calculations are so complex that it's impossible for anyone to verify them.
• Not content with plundering Danish residents' pensions, the Danish government is little by little introducing Danish income tax on retired Danish expats' pension payments. It is the norm that pensions are taxed in the country of residence, so emigrated pensioners would pay tax in the country they emigrated to. It makes sense, because expats use the public services of the country they live in, not Denmark. That rule was written in many of the double tax agreements Denmark has signed with other countries. But Denmark started pestering foreign governments to obtain the right to tax these pensions instead of the country of residence, and they succeeded in many cases. Some countries like Spain and France have refused this racket, and the Danish government is now threatening to give notice on these tax agreements as they did with Portugal some years before. With no double tax agreement in force any more, Denmark can legally tax away at their expatriated Danes. It is a so-called conservative government that is doing this. Read: socialist, the only type of political party that exists in Denmark. The amounts of tax involved are insignificant compared with the state budget, but it's a matter of envy - the Jantelov is still observed, also by the so-called conservative prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen whom I have quoted elsewhere on this page for having said: "Success shall not breed envy, but recognition".
• The Value Added Tax is the highest in the European Union with 25% on all products and services, food and children's articles included.
• Excise duties ("punktafgifter") add some extra tax to specific products like alcohol, tobacco, chocolate, soft drinks, packaging, matches and petrol. The excise duty is calculated on the goods and the VAT, resulting in a system where one pays tax on tax.
• Car registration tax of 180% of the car and the VAT (the first 45.000 kr. (6,000 €) are taxed "only" at 90%, and there are deductions for some safety equipment). Note that this includes a "tax tax" because the registration tax is also calculated on the VAT.
• Annual road tax.
• Tax on car insurance.
• Fuel tax.
• Energy taxes.
• Green taxes.
• Driving licence tax.
• The European Union's most expensive television licence of 1894 kr. (254 €) a year.
• Various stamp duties, such as 600 kr. (80 €) for a passport.
• Tax on the number plates for cars of about 1200 kr. (160 €).
• Full income tax on all savings interests and capital gains. Many countries have taxfree schemes to encourage individual savings. Not Denmark.
• Property tax. 
• Another tax on owned property. This used to be called tax of lejeværdi af egen bolig (letting value of own habitation). The communist principle behind it was that the habitation represents a potential taxable letting income. The letting value was calculated on a progressive scale from 2.5% to 7.5% of the public valuation. The letting value was added to the personal income before income tax was calculated. Thus, one paid tax of an income one never had. The principles have now been changed in order to hide the fraudulent nature of this tax. This tax is due even on properties abroad owned by residents of Denmark, and even if such properties abroad are already taxed in the country where they are.
• Inheritance tax.
• Emigration tax.

Note: Foreigners and Danes who've lived outside Denmark for some years may benefit from a fixed low rate tax for up to three years under certain conditions. This would apply typically to specialist contractors coming to work on a particular project, and who leave the country when the project is finished. These would also be exempt from paying the standard rate of car registration duty. For more information, an extensive guide can be downloaded from PricewaterhouseCoopers at http://www.pwcglobal.com/.

Fraud and Corruption in the Legal System

When the Government wishes to impose a new tax, it doesn't matter if the principles behind the new law conform to the constitution, European legislation, human rights or other treaties. What matters is the money, and that the government can get away with the fraud. Even if some citizens should win at the supreme court ten years later, many will have been discouraged.

It's worth noticing that even if the citizen is right according to the letter of the law, the courts will often introduce their own interpretation. That is, if you followed a law and made perfectly legal financial and fiscal arrangements, then the courts may go against you if they find that the sole purpose was to pay less taxes. This practice without any foundation in the law has been going on for a long time at the lower and middle levels of the court system. This might be explained by the fact that it's the Minister of Justice who promotes judges. In order to benefit their own careers, many judges presumably try to avoid offending the government in delicate cases. But once a judge is promoted to the highest level, which is the supreme court, then only his peers can touch him. This difference has meant that to get a correct decision without political interference, one has been forced to continue to the supreme court. It may no longer be so. There is now a tendency for the supreme court to join the club of political judges.

The Danish constitution states that the three powers must be separate, that is the legislative power, the judging power, and the executive power. It is clear that this system of promotion leaves an open floodgate between the executive power and the judging power, to the detriment of the citizens' legal protection.

If you don't believe me, then read this article by Jesper Berning, the well-known Danish lawyer who defended Jesper Bonde Nielsen and won against the State. The article is in Danish. The site JR's Debatsider has in fact a whole collection of articles concerning the problems with Danish justice. Recommended reading for everybody, and in particular those who still believe that Denmark is ruled by law.

While Russia is trying to recover from lawlessness and introduce a proper legal base, Denmark is drifting towards lawlessness, as promoted by the highest powers in the country. There is already a centralised computer system monitoring all financial, and many other affairs of the citizens. Thus, the citizens are exposed to attacks from the state at any time. George Orwell's "1984" was introduced in Denmark little by little.

Denmark is politically and legally corrupt, and you have very little chances of ever making any progress there.

Tax authorities, as supported by the whole, corrupt establishment including the courts, will spare no means to wrench every penny out of you, once they've got you in sight. Innocent people have been driven to suicide, nervous breakdown and financial ruin by the tax authorities and their evil servants. 

A gruesome testimony written by Bernt Sørensen, one such victim who had emigrated from Denmark in 1956, tells how misinformation from the tax authorities lead him into a trap that cost him his entire savings from 30 years' work abroad. Arrested by the police and sentenced by the local court, High Court and Appeals Court for non-existing crimes, no one has been willing or able to tell the victim what crime he committed. As already said, it's all a question of envy and money. The real crime this man committed was as a Dane to emigrate and be successful and make it visible in Denmark. Danish version..

The case of Stephen Hoath - a Briton who had been living in Denmark for 13 years - may be familiar to some readers. A Google search will reveal plenty of articles and a petition. Stephen Hoath's nine-year old daughter had been molested by a convicted paedophile, Villy Andersen. He reported it to the police, who didn't want to act because of lack of evidence. After the first incident, the paedophile kept telephoning Mr. Hoath to harrass him, his wife and daughter, saying that he would 'get' the daughter in the end, as Mr. Hoath couldn't watch over her 24 hours a day. Each time, Mr. Hoath reported it to the police, but they did nothing. One day when Stephen Hoath met the paedophile by chance, he lost his temper and shot Mr. Andersen dead. Stephen Hoath was sentenced to 14 years in prison, which was lowered to 12 years on appeal in March 2004, in biased and unfair trials called a sham by his lawyer. In politically correct Denmark, one must try to understand the criminals' feelings and protect criminals against unfair punishment (unless it's a case of tax evasion, which will be treated with no mercy). A bit of compassion for the victims is of course in its place, but one must understand that it would be unreasonable if criminals were to suffer just for the comfort of the victim. The sole fact that you have been a victim of a crime doesn't make you any better than the rest, according to the Jantelov, and so you shouldn't expect any special treatment. If you try to take the law in your own hands, as Stephen Hoath did, you will feel the full wrath of the Jantelov. I don't defend shooting someone else - he shouldn't have done it, of course. But why wasn't the paedophile locked up, and why didn't the police do anything? It is understandable that Mr. Hoath lost his temper in that situation. If he should be punished, then it would have been reasonable with a symbolic punishment. Not 12 years! He has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and was given 5 more years to live in 2002. His daughter will almost never see her dad again. How can this be called justice? It's yet another example of this inhuman, cruel, disgraceful country with the name of Denmark, calling itself a "welfare state". Stephen Hoath was transferred to a British prison in 2004 on his request, only to find out that conditions there are horrible; freezing during winter and no sign of compassion. His marriage went down the drain, and he is now even further from his daughter.

Read the Daily Telegraph's article from November 2004.

Another example of evil servants' abuse happened when a Dane living and working in Germany regularly visited his Danish girlfriend just across the Danish border. After having regularly spotted him crossing the border in his German registered Mercedes, customs and police officers confiscated the car and demanded payment of Danish registration tax of 200%. The customs officials obviously could not let the provocation that a Dane drove a foreign-registered Mercedes in Denmark unchallenged. That was a serious breach of the Jantelov. The case ended up at the European Court of Justice, where Denmark lost and had to hand the car back and pay compensation.

Recent examples of dishonest legislation from Danish governments are:

• AMBI (ArbejdsMarkedsBIdrag). A 3% tax added in parallel to the VAT of then 22%. The European Court of Justice ruled this tax illegal. A few companies tried to sue for compensation. The government cashed 50 billion kr. (6.7 bio. €) in on this scam. After the ruling, the government removed the tax and increased the VAT to 25%.
• Illegal limitation of personal import of beer for personal consumption. European Union legislation provides citizens with the option of buying their goods where they like. Goods bought and taxed in another member state cannot be taxed when imported into another member state by an individual for personal use. Denmark illegally limited the quantity of beer to 10 litres in 1986. Five years later, the European Court of Justice ruled this illegal.
• Import from another member state of many articles for personal use became subject to VAT during a short period in the eighties. This wild west law defined that any purchase which was not "normal shopping" was subject to VAT. To make a mockery of out this circus, a newspaper telephoned several different customs offices and got as many different interpretations of "normal shopping". The EU persuaded the Danish government to repeal this illegal law soon after.
• To escape the crushing taxes, people sometimes organise particular investment schemes. Just as often, the government will change the laws retrospectively or disrespect double taxation treaties to damage these schemes.
• Civil servants are obliged to put money into a particular pension fund. Everybody are entitled to old age pension. But an amount similar to the old age pension is deducted from the payments from their pension fund when they retire. This scam has not yet come to the courts, and however strange it seems, the negotiators from the civil servants' unions have accepted the scam. There is little doubt that the negotiators, the unions or both have been corrupted by the governments.

Exported Products and Foreigners' Perception of Denmark

However mean the Danes may be between them, they are incredibly proud of anything produced in Denmark, and all exported products are covered in little, red, Danish flags, the Dannebrog, and "Denmark" or "Danish" is written all over the place. Of course, all that makes no difference to foreign customers, who've never heard anything about Denmark. Asked about Denmark, a Brit or a Frenchman would ask if it's part of the EU. The informed reader will know that Denmark joined at the same time as Britain and Ireland, namely 1 January 1973. If you show a map of Scandinavia to a Brit and ask him to point out Denmark, he'll show you either Norway or Sweden.

People outside Scandinavia usually believe that Denmark is a quiet, orderly fairy tale like country, with a welfare system that takes care of everybody in a fair way. Little do they know about all the crime, the record high taxes, the people dying while awaiting life-saving operations, the mean Jantelov, the envy, and the corruption.

The Smokers

One of the first things that struck me when I visited Denmark in June 2006 was how people are smoking everywhere. That is in stark contrast to other civilised countries such as France, the UK and the USA, where you are unlikely to be confronted with smoke in offices and public places. According to this site, 28% of the Danish adult population is smoking daily. In the EU, only the Spanish, the Dutch, the Luxembourgish and the Greek have a larger percentage of daily smokers. In Canada and the USA, only 17% and 18% respectively are daily smokers. This is contradictory to the common belief that the Danes are very conscious of environmental and health issues. During the public debate in the 1970s about whether to introduce nuclear energy or not, it was noted that one of those opposed to nuclear energy due to cancer risks had been photographed with a pipe in his mouth. The Danes ended up rejecting nuclear energy, preferring to pollute the atmosphere with fossile fuels and tobacco smoke which together are killing more Danes annually than nuclear energy has ever killed worldwide. Denmark is far behind other civilised countries when it comes to legislation protecting the rights of non-smokers to breathe clean air. This may be due to a liberal attitude according to which people should not be subject to restrictions, but the majority of non-smokers are paying the price for this pseudo-liberalism. I have worked in Denmark, the UK, Luxembourg and France, but Denmark is the only country where I have had to tolerate smoking in the offices.

Smoking in public places is today outlawed in Denmark, as it is becoming common in other countries.

The Political Parties

Alll the Danish political parties are socialist or communist or a combination. There are at least 10 of them. One of the socialist parties is named the Conservative People Party for historical reasons. You may find this description absurd, but the explanation is that the whole political spectre in Denmark has been slided to the far left. On an absolute political scale, British "New Labour" is more to the right than any Danish party. Denmark has had socialist rule as long as anyone can remember (despite the so-called Conservative Party having been in power), and it's one of the most socialist countries in Europe. Because of the huge number of political parties, governments are always in minority. This assures a continued line of socialism. Political parties or not, the country is mostly governed by the administration, where socialist-communist parties have planted socialist-communist dinosaurs in key positions for decades. Even if a purely conservative government came to power, it would take ages to rid the administration of them.

The Welfare State

Denmark is a paradise for people who don't like to work. The welfare system is designed to assure that anyone not working has at least the same standard of living as those who do. Thus, there's no incentive to ruin your spare time by looking for work. In fact, more than half of the population is financed by the working minority, who must pay for pensioners, unemployed, social security clients, single mothers, immigrants and the civil servants who count about half of the working population. By promising and giving money to these groups, the socialist-communist parties have managed to keep themselves in power at the cost of the working minority that are slaves of the government and those financed by it.

By contrast, the part of the welfare system that's being used by the working population, is being starved of money. Thus, the health system has slid further and further down when compared with similar countries. Danes are brainwashed to think their health system is the best in the world and they like to criticise the British system, but the British system has been improving and is certainly not worse than the Danish now. This is the case despite the population paying the world's highest taxes. People who don't fancy dying while awaiting a life-saving operation either have to pay cash at one of the new private hospitals (private hospitals were illegal until the eighties) or abroad or pay for private medical insurance.

The welfare state was built with borrowed money during the sixties and the seventies. The government gross debt reached 101,000,000,000 € at its highest. With a population of 5,300,000, this amounted to 19,100 € per citizen, new-born babies included (figures from 1996, source: Eurostat Yearbook 1997). Thus, a large part of the high taxes went to paying interest on the debt.

Over the last ten years, moderate governments have successfully reduced the debt significantly, to 63,000,000,000 € (11,500 € per person) gross or 33,000,000,000 € (6,000 € per person)  net, out of which 9,000,000,000 € (1,600 € per person) is foreign debt (Danmarks Statistik 2007). Let's note that interest payments are calculated on the gross debt, not the net debt.

The Unions

Manual workers are expected to be members of the communist union in power at the workplace. Even though there's no legal requirement to do so, anyone refusing membership is considered an outlaw by his colleagues, who will refuse to work with him, smash his car (if he could afford one in the first place), damage his property, terrorise his family and go on illegal strike until the outlaw is fired. Firing him is of course illegal, but many companies see themselves pressured to do so in order for the business to survive. Public services, like the Copenhagen City Hall, have been seen to fire employees who refused to join the unions as well. They know it's illegal, but since the communist and socialist mayors sympathise with the unions, they find that it's ok.

The Beer

Beer is Denmark's national drink, drunk at any time, anywhere, at any occasion and for any excuse. Danes like Danish beer from Tuborg, Carlsberg and maybe Faxe and someone seen drinking a foreign beer could be considered a bit of a weirdo, committing an act of treason. There are some exceptions: 1. It has become trendy to drink special brews from Danish micro-breweries or the main Danish brewers. 2. Near Germany, where beer is imported to Denmark in large quantities to save on the beer tax, it is acceptable to drink cheap German brands of beer. Needless to say, Danish beer consumption per capita is among the largest in Europe.

The Food

Denmark's contributions to cooking are flæskesteg (roast pork prepared with the rind on it, served with sweet/sour red cabbage, boiled and caramelised potatoes and a brown sauce), hakkebøf (steaks of minced beef, served with boiled potatoes, fried onions and a brown sauce) and frikadeller (fried meat balls made of minced pork and veal, served like the hakkebøf). As opposed to the brown sauce served in Britain, the Danish version sometimes has a taste.

Lunch is open sandwiches prepared on slices of rye bread. Any sort of meat, including what was left of the dinner the day before, may be used on the smørrebrød. In particular, marinated herrings in spicy sauce is popular. The lunch is washed down with Danish beer, and at weekends with snaps (an alcohol made on potatoes and with various herbs like cumin). The snaps must be served ice cold.

The younger generations are increasingly revolting against the fatty diet, which is replaced with pizzas, pastas, and other foreign food.

Danish is a germanic language, so it bears some resemblance to German and Dutch, while Norwegian and Swedish are very close to Danish. It means that Danish follows the German habit of glueing words together, giving very long words such as stærkstrømsregulativfortolkningsproblem (interpretation problem regarding a power current regulation). This word passed my Danish spellchecker!

Apart from its German roots, Danish is really a blend of imported words from Roman languages, notably French, Greek, English and many other places. Often, the initial pronounciation is still in use. Given the many different language roots and rules for pronounciation, there is often no direct relation between the spelling of Danish words and their pronounciation. In a Roman language like French, the pronounciation of the vast majority of words follows a set of fairly simple rules. In Danish, you have to learn the pronounciation of many words by heart, because you cannot apply a simple set of rules. This makes it very difficult for foreigners to learn Danish.

As for the numbers, the Danes - like the Germans - pronounce the 10's and 1's in opposite order:

23 is treogtyve - three and twenty - just like the German Dreiundzwanzig - what a mess! The Swedes are more clever and use a logic system: totitre - two ten three.

That is a question you will frequently hear in Denmark. Danes are often meticulous and have an unusual sense for detail. They want to understand why things are like they are, how things work and the details of things. They will not take "because it is like that" for an answer. In TV broadcasts of major events, for example involving royalty or visits of foreign heads of state, there are hours and hours of broadcasts on the main State TV channel, showing all the aspects that can possibly be filmed and explained. This satisfies a genuine interest amongst Danes to understand what they see. This interest in detail is partially the reason why Danish products and services have obtained an international reputation for quality. It also partially explains why Denmark has been a leading country when it comes to improving environmental standards. Once a Dane understands the pollution around him, he simply cannot accept it.

Mary Christiansen, a British national from Scotland now living in Denmark, sent me the following story to consider on the 19 December 2005, reproduced here with permission:

Update 9 May 2007:

Some Danes are so happy about their country that criticism like what you will find on this page is seen as an insult. In November 2007, I received this comment from a Dane: "You clown. Move from denmark, if it is that awful. I thought that your brites where gentlemen, but your are a disgrace." Well, this guy thinks the British are still gentlemen as in the early 20th century - and many people around the world think the Danes are tolerant of others and other opinions. But, to return to this eloquent opinion, I AM Danish, not British, and I DID emigrate in 1993, having had enough. To be happy in Denmark, you have to like and accept the uniform way of thinking that the socialist welfare and envy system has built up in the 20th century. Criticism and other ways of thinking are not accepted, but it's not the state that will censure you - as in certain countries - but the individual Danes, as this fellow here just illustrated.

This page is a subjective description of certain aspects of Denmark as I see them. It is neither balanced nor complete. Should it be balanced? Is existing literature praising Denmark balanced? Why should a text only be balanced when presenting negative views but not if it presents positive views?

If a factual description of Denmark is what you're after, then I suggest reading the US State Department's fact sheet about Denmark, which is one of the best I've come across.

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