Danish Affairs

Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen is maybe not discrete enough to position himself as a coming EU President, according to The Economist.

A majority of the Danes thinks the Prime Minister is going for an international top job in either EU or NATO. But I don´t think The Economist has got a correct understanding of Danish politics, since the author believes that Danish voters would prioritize a prime ministers career or short term advantages higher than their national currency and sovereignty.

The man on the street really don´t care about who is on the throne in Brussels. And the “far right” (Danish People´s Party) has had an excellent cooperation with Anders Fogh Rasmussen since 2001. Why should they want him replaced? Only the parties on the far left (communists and socialists) has an interest in getting rid of a succesful right wing leader.

The Economist: When loose talk may cost a top job

Many pundits think he plans an autumn referendum, maybe as soon as September. The polls give him a chance. One from Greens Analyseinstitut in April had 55% of voters for joining the euro and only 38% against. Public opinion also favours scrapping the other opt-outs. Yet 16 years after their first rejection of the Maastricht treaty, there is a rump of opposition to the euro in Denmark, especially on the far left and far right. Oddly, this could work in the prime minister’s favour. Anti-Rasmussen voters may reason that a vote for the euro would enhance his candidacy for the EU job and hasten his departure. A case of yes euro, no prime minister?

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.

Danish Euro-referendum already next autumn (Die Presse). PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen is considered a strong candidate to the position as President of the European Union.

But since the president must come from the Euro- and Schengen-zone, Denmark cannot keep the Crown as its own currency and fulfill Fogh´s career goals.

Selfish reasons camouflaged as statemanship? Wouldn´t be the first time.

Via Hodjas Blog

Geert Wilders was interviewed by danish television yesterday about his movie ‘Fitna’.

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen responded with a press release strongly opposing Wilders´anti-islamic views. Not all intellectual defenders of western values and freedom rights seem to be compatible with the agenda of wannabe-european-president Mr. Fogh.

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has promoted freedom of speech on a number of occasions. And his party (Venstre) has honoured Ayaan Hirsi Ali with their freedom prize. But when it comes to the dutch MP Geert Wilders, AFR warns against “demonizing” groups of people.

Why?

The views of Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Geert Wilders are similar. They both make a distinction between islam and muslims, between islam as a religion and islam as a political ideology.

The answer is, that to be acceptable for the political establishment you still need to be an ex-muslim or at least of non-european origin to point out the dangers of islam.

The press release from PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen (in danish)

The Prime Ministers Office (english site)

Wilders´movie will be released at fitnathemovie.co.uk March 23.

Update The interview on Youtube: