Danish Affairs

Yesterday the Danish parliament approved the Lisbon Treaty without much media attention or debate, with 90 votes in favour and 25 against. The approval was based on the conclusion of the Ministry of Justice, that the treaty did not force prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen´s government to hold a referendum which could have raised debate over the - from a national sovereignty perspective - controversial treaty.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen was not even present yesterday at the final debate before the ratification election, despite the fact that he actually was in the parliament building Christiansborg on that day. Boersen and Politiken [in Danish]

That´s how business-as-usual rubber stamp politics is carried out in the small province of Denmark.

It was Silvio Berlusconi who called Anders Fogh Rasmussen “the most handsome prime minister in Europe”.

In a political sense the approval of the Lisbon Treaty makes the potential president of the European Council almost beautiful.

The European Voice obviously thinks that Anders Fogh Rasmussen deserves a reward for saving the treaty from the threats of public debate, EU-scepticists, referendums and the extremisms of the nation state´s liberal democracy in general:

Denmark’s handsome prince of Europe?

Those who object to former UK prime minister Tony Blair as a potential first president of the European Council often argue that someone from a country which is not in the eurozone or the Schengen area of border-free travel could not be credible at the head of Europe. At first sight, insisting on these criteria would also seem to exclude Anders Fogh Rasmussen (pictured), the prime minister of Denmark – which is not only outside the eurozone, but also has opt-outs on defence policy, European citizenship and justice and home affairs. But this year could change that perception.

Fogh Rasmussen may be on the brink of removing as many as three of these opt-outs. He has hinted that a referendum on the opt-puts could be held this autumn, once the Lisbon treaty is ratified by the national parliament, the Folketing. If he manages this feat, the Danish prime minister would significantly boost his chances of becoming Council president.

Update:

For a brief summary of the current danish political situation read the analysis at Gates Of Vienna by Zonka.