Politics!

Hey-O,

The last week hasn’t really been too eventful, been kind of bored actually… but there have been some interesting things going on. Most notably a general election was called around a week and a half ago.

The election really has been a big deal, similar in some ways to an election in the states but also drastically different. First of all, the states minister (highest position in Denmark) actually chooses when to hold an election. He must hold an election at least once every 4 years, but I get the impression that it is generally called some time in the final year, or maybe 3^rd year when the sitting states minister thinks he has the best chance to win.

So because the election can happen so suddenly the campaign really kicks into gear. Immediately after the election was called leaders from all the parties were on TV taking part in interviews constantly. If they had other engagements these were quickly dropped for the election. The night after the election was called I went to my badminton game and everyone was talking about it already. The next day signs began showing up all over the city, everywhere. (I went into the city one afternoon and when I returned there was a huge sign along the fence where my bike was previously parked).

So why all the fervor from the politicians as well as the public? Because once the election is called, the vote is only 3 weeks away!!! That’s right, there are only 3 weeks of campaigning, 3 weeks of ads and debates. After getting over the initial shock I realized how much I really liked the idea. For one, it creates an excitement in the population that until now (election 9 days away), has not died out (I think it is hard to stay excited for 2 years or however long a campaign is nowadays in the US…).

And although the 3 weeks are obviously intense, I do not feel like it does the damage to the candidates’ current jobs like it does in the states. They are not touring the country (admittedly a very small one) for months on end, unable to fulfill their roll as a senator, house member, etc. while they are campaigning.

Another thing I very much like about the Danish political system is the plethora of parties! Like in the states, there are two main parties, but there are other viable options as well. For example, the 2 main parties in Denmark each have around 27% of the voters, but that obviously only makes up little over half. There are other parties with 13%, another with 10%, one with 8, 5, 4, 2, 1. I think this is quite an unbelievable diversity, at least in comparison with the states. Although I hear from the Danes that more and more they are all gravitating towards the center, there are other options here than just two parties, options with different points of view that are established.

And what’s more, once the states minister is chosen (obviously there is no “consensus” with these numbers, so the smaller parties will choose to support one state minister candidate from one of the larger parties), he is obligated to include members from different parties in his cabinet based on their percentage numbers. This means that in the inner-circle of the government it is not all one party as it has become in the states, but even the smaller parties, beyond having seats in parliament, also have some say in the executive branch (at least in theory), which takes away the “my vote won’t really count if I vote for a small party” idea in the states.

Beyond the election, another special celebration occurred in Denmark last Friday: “J-day”. J-day signifies the day which all of the breweries in Copenhagen release their Christmas beer brew for the season. This “special” brew did not taste that special to me. I went out with a group of badminton players and they admitted that it really wasn’t anything that great, just a sign of the season and an excuse to go out and have fun.

Yesterday was quite sunny and after having a lazy weekend I decided to get out. Denise suggested I go to “Dyrehaven” which translates to “animal park” or “animal garden”. I think the closest thing we have to it in the states would be something like Northwest Trek, but it is still quite different. I was able to bike there in about an hour and a half down the coast.

Dyrehaven is an absolutely huge area of nature. Beyond one restaurant near the entrance, paths for biking and walking, and trash cans, nothing else is man-made. The area is filled with tons of trees (which looked quite nice as the leaves were coming down), fields, streams, and ponds. The park has a few entrances and is otherwise fenced all the way around.

What is nice about it is they do not have any small cages housing animals, and the animals need to be native to the environment they are in. They only have bigger animals like deer/bucks/elk that would be living in this type of environment anyway. They are free to roam throughout the huge park. In fact I was wondering where all the animals were the first 30 minutes I was there until I saw a large pack of deer in some grass to the distance.

They have a sign at the beginning discouraging one from approaching the animals and beyond that its just personal responsibility. I could also tell that people weren’t feeding them as they definitely did not want to come near me looking for a handout. I thought the park was really nice. It was free, very clean, and the incorporation of wild animals made it more exciting and “countryside” feeling despite being nearby the city.

The only problem is it is really getting too cold for me to spend the whole day outside. Even wearing 2 pairs of socks and a pair of gloves my hands and feet were freezing in the park no matter what I did...

That’s it for now. Looking forward to a Cabaret show in Tivoli and a Ghost Tour through Copenhagen which I signed up for through the international office. Also an International Documentary Film Festival is coming to Copenhagen so I am looking forward to checking out some of those movies.

Uploaded some new pictures as well of Morocco:

Casablanca

Marrakesh

Jeff