PM Frederiksen sets a cautionary and moralistic tone for the political year

On 7 October, the Danish Parliament (Folketinget) opened its doors for a new legislative year with the traditional address from the Prime Minister outlining the government’s plans and priorities. In her seventh time opening parliament, PM Mette Frederiksen set a cautious tone in an address which was notably light on detail but heavy on Danish values and democratic principles. While in previous years Frederiksen used the opening address to foreshadow major policy reforms or deliver well-televised responses to the hot political topics of the day, her Tuesday address reflected on the government’s success to date, forewarned of the challenges facing Danish democracy and included only a handful of policy announcements. 

Key among these announcements was the government’s decision to ban children under 15-years-old from social media platforms. Few more details were given about which platforms would be banned and how it would be implemented, other than that parents could make some exceptions for children from 13-years-old. The announcement followed months of debate in the Danish public about the role of social media in children’s development and mental health, including the decision to introduce phone-free classrooms in schools. Denmark is now set to follow countries such as Australia in restricting social media usage by children, which has drawn sharp criticism and legal challenges from the platforms themselves. Frederiksen held few punches in her criticism of the platforms, saying “we have let a monster loose” and labelling tech giants as a great threat to the common public sphere. 

Frederiksen raised concerns about rising cases of anti-semitism and committed the government to doing more to combat it. She expressed her unease at the recent increase in threats against local and national parliamentarians, warning that Denmark should not tolerate any weakening in the strength of its democracy. Acknowledging Denmark’s high employment rate and increased support for vulnerable citizens, Frederiksen reflected on her government’s successes in the past year, and dedicated a focused section of her speech to outlining its progress in curbing irregular migration. 

While the Prime Minister’s speech drew expected criticism from opposition parties and media commentators, as we reported in Mundus News Denmark, its rhetorical and moralistic structure made it difficult to criticise much of the content itself, with most complaints focused on what she did not say. Enhedlisten and the Denmark Democrats criticised Frederiksen for not doing enough to address the cost of living crisis facing Danes today, and the far right parties together argued that Frederiksen had been too soft on migration. Liberal Alliance leader Alex Vanopslagh gave the Prime Minister measured praise but said the government needed to follow with tangible results. Parliament will debate responses to the opening address later in the week. 

On the surface, the limited substance in the Prime Minister’s opening address could be seen as a sign of a tired leader of a coalition running out of steam after a term beset with internal and external challenges. Some political commentators read this as a signal of a potential early national election, for which the Social Democrats would not want to have their policy offerings tied to their current coalition partners, the Moderates and Venstre. As parties prepare for the local elections in just over a month, where Frederiksen’s Social Democrats are in real danger of losing the Copenhagen Mayor seat for the first time ever, perhaps the Prime Minister wanted to leave room for differentiation in their political campaign. 

But Frederiksen is an astute strategist and is unlikely not to have taken advantage of the opportunity to address the nation, particularly during the country’s EU Presidency. At a time when polarisation is accelerating and media time is won by clickbait not quality, perhaps Frederiksen made a tactical decision not to rock the boat with major reform. Denmark’s boat has been rocked dramatically of late, from US interventionist sentiment over Greenland, to shocks for flagship firms Novo Nordisk and Ørsted, to the unprecedented challenge of the crumbling of the global trade system. Frederiksen’s focus on the values underpinning Danish and European democratic infrastructure may have been a touch abstract or overly philosophical for an audience focused on day-to-day challenges. But the Prime Minister appeared acutely aware that the momentous challenges facing Danish and European democratic society will not be solved with a few pre-election policy announcements.