Danish PM: Sanders should stop calling Denmark socialist

[Filuwaúrdjan]

"Who cares about what the Prime Minister of Denmark thinks about Denmark?

Who indeed? The man is an idiot and (being a Prime Minister) is not exactly politically neutral. Few politicians would take too kindly to hearing of a foreigner suggest that the views of his political opponents are synonymous with his country as a whole.

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Well his politics are based on the idea that the workers movement is the key to social progress and that social solidarity and equality are important. And he calls himself one and has done for decades. So where's the issue?

[Figueira]

Anyone who thinks the Scandinavian conservative parties are anywhere near socialist clearly knows nothing about them.

And if you want to bring up their stances on abortion, gay rights or gun control, those issues have nothing to do with socialism.

Did anyone say that Scandinavian conservative parties are socialist?

[Famous Mortimer]

It's controversial that you people are all insisting there is one universally accepted definition of socialism. There's not. There's an infinite number. No single one is particularly more valid.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Anyone who thinks the Scandinavian conservative parties are anywhere near socialist clearly knows nothing about them.

And if you want to bring up their stances on abortion, gay rights or gun control, those issues have nothing to do with socialism.

Did anyone say that Scandinavian conservative parties are socialist?

Well some people in the past have claimed they are to the left of Sanders.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

"Who cares about what the Prime Minister of Denmark thinks about Denmark?

Who indeed? The man is an idiot and (being a Prime Minister) is not exactly politically neutral. Few politicians would take too kindly to hearing of a foreigner suggest that the views of his political opponents are synonymous with his country as a whole.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Well his politics are based on the idea that the workers movement is the key to social progress and that social solidarity and equality are important. And he calls himself one and has done for decades. So where's the issue?

Well that applies to plenty of Democratic politicians too. I think the point of the "Sanders isn't really a socialist" people is that he's not really much different than the left wing of the Democratic Party, which is certainly true. So if you want to argue that left wing Democratic politicians are also socialist...well I guess you can and might even have a good argument, it's just that it's not too easy to do so without sounding like a Tea Party moron.

And I don't place much stock on Rasmussen either, but I think his point that Denmark has a very free market economy (in some ways more than the US) is quite valid. People in the US who rave about so called Nordic model socialism, whether attacking it or defending it tend to always miss that all Nordic countries actually have very free market business-friendly economies, actually they serve as a much better prototypical model for social liberal in combining a large welfare state with free markets than they do for socialist.

[Mr. Reactionary]

wealth tax.

[eric82oslo]

wealth tax.

I guess you're the opposite Robin Hood, who would like to take from the poor and give to the rich. Good to know that there still are Hitlers in the world like you, Trump and Nethanyahu.

[ingemann]

"Who cares about what the Prime Minister of Denmark thinks about Denmark?

Who indeed? The man is an idiot

Løkke is many things (short sighted, lacking in personal moral, a asshole and according to my father a really entertaining and generous drinking buddy), but he have never been a idiot.

 

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That's correct. But here's the thing I would not call Denmark socialist, yes as most countries Denmark have mixed economy, one of the highest tax rates in the world and public owned hospitals and railroads (through private ones also exist). But Denmark have never had nationalisation to the extent many other European countries have, and the institutions and organisation the Danish state own, that's more a result of the relative late industrialisation in Denmark, so the Danish state had to invest in these things to build them up. But at the same time Denmark also have much fewer laws on issues like workplaces (including no official minimums wage) than most developed countries, because of a system where the unions and the employers organisations meet and negotiate the rules on the work place, while the state enforce the deals these organisations make, and if they can't reach a agreement the state force a agreement down over them, with the right usual enforcing in favour of the workers, and the left usual enforcing in favour of the employers (it's the whole "only Nixon could go to China" problematic). Denmark also have some of easiest rules for firing employees, while at the same time having very generous (insurance based through the unions) unemployment benefits.