Thousands of Danes cry out against removing a holiday to increase defense spending
Thousands of Danes have filled the surroundings of Parliament in Copenhagen this Sunday in protest against their government’s plans to eliminate a holiday to increase defense spending as a result of the war in Ukraine, a measure that has raised all the opposition , the unions, the Lutheran Church and a good part of the population. The plan is part of the government pact presented two months ago by the Executive of the Social Democrat Mette Frederiksen, which also includes the Liberals and a new center party. She wants the Danish State to collect 3,200 million crowns (430 million euros) to help bring forward to 2030 the commitment with NATO to allocate 2% of GDP to defense. “I hope that the government listens, sees this and finds that it is a popular question and an action that it should not carry out,” Lizette Risgaard, general secretary of the Confederation of Danish Trade Unions, which groups 79, said today in reference to the protest. trade union organizations and 1.4 million workers, in a country with a population of some 5.7 million. However, the criticism does not seem to have affected the government, which remains firm in its plan and intends to urgently approve the new law at the end of this month. “I don’t think it’s problematic that we have to work one more day,” said Frederiksen, demanding “honesty” in the political discussion, because there is not enough money to finance the “big spending” on defense and security caused by the war, according to her. of Ukraine or for the green transition or health reform.