The next post is all about sammenhængskraft, ‘cohesiveness’ – the thing on every Dane’s lips every other minute. Let me wet your lips with this tasty treat: an example of how cohesiveness still has to find its way from words to deeds.
The words:
“The message to immigrants who want integration in Denmark is that if you want and show willingness to make active efforts and respects the Danish culture and democratic values, you can become a part of Danish society (…).”
Review of Objectives, “New rules for obtaining permanent residence”, The Ministry of Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs , March 2010.
The deeds:
“The rules for voting rights in municipal and regional elections are changed, so they only apply to resident aliens when they have resided in Denmark for 4 years. The current rules grant the right to vote to resident aliens after 3 years.”
Item 22, “New rules for obtaining permanent residence”, The Ministry of Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs , March 2010.
17 Comments
17 Comments
O God, it’s horrible, horrible.
you are too lovely with foreigners. I would never give the right to vote or express opinions to an alien person before becoming a true citizen, wich respects values and has the same culture
Valdemar, you’re an ass, if you don’t mind my saying so.
Valdemar, get back under that rock. Its people like u that make this place unbearable.
Let’s keep this civilized, guys.
Canada doesn’t have the right to vote for aliens at the municipal level, and it should. It’s a way of saying welcome, a way to include and to let newcomers into the immediate community.
The power of municipalities is very, very limited, and so is the influence of such alien voters. The nationalist Danish People’s Party is going overboard here, and it inserts an inherent contradiction within the law.
What is the spirit of this law? Are we welcome or not? It looks like we are not welcome, no matter how many hoops we jump through to earn the points required.
As if a year makes a difference. In that extra year to “integrate” most people move closer to not giving a fuck…which I consider to be the one of the worser afflictions of the Danes.
*sigh* so many complaints……
Why not stop talking about it and move on in life….
Silly to bitch and moan!
fail@this blog and these commenters….
You’re like 42…. really now…. sad…. Aren’t there some children you should be attending to? Perhaps a wife you can go continue to annoy and make unhappy?
Very often the only response Danish acquaintances can muster whenever I voice fairly valid criticisms of Denmark is–as “lalallala” writes above–that I should refrain from pointing out the negatives and focus on the positives, lest the good life pass me by.
Do they teach that in schools here or what? Maybe that’s also why you guys do so well on these happiness tests? Ignorance is bliss?
By the way, it was also the standard line of defense for Bush voters whenever anyone took issue with Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, lack of WMDs in Iraq, Patriot Act, etc., etc., etc.
It’s also why after moving to France and later Germany I found people’s attitudes towards their own government and countrymen so refreshing.
Now in Copenhagen it’s like being in a kindergarten class where the teacher has very effectively managed to quell all individualist disruptions and dissent. All the children get along and play nice because their eyes are on the chocolate milk and cookies!
I am a single mother from the US. No matter how much you hate what is going on in your country, it cannot begin to compare to the mess “we” have made. I’m glad you have a voice and you can sharply challange culture at it’s worst; but, I have to say, if I could emigrate to Denmark, I would.
Very well put, Chris!
@lalallala: I think you are the sad one for making people feel bad about themselves. You are not contributing anything positive and constructive either.
I’ve found this blog nothing but informative. It is an open forum where people can argue their case in a civil manner, and people like you infiltrate it like a bacterium and consume it from the inside. The same goes for some other people here as well.
Peter, you’re doing a great job! Keep going!
Hej…
So in the USA it is
sammenhængskraft=the progressives or shall we say the “politically correct” movement which is just as rotten.
The “jantelov” is something also in Denmark you can get sick of.
I think Dear William Shakespeare would change his tone and it no longer would be something is rotten in Denmark, but it would change to: “something is rotten in the West.”
At least Denmark has been supporting the allies and war on terror and doing that. It may be hard to agree with it all and the war is definitely a mess and I think we all question the good and bad judgements made, but we can all be Monday morning quarterbacks as they say in the US.
I guess with all that is wrong in the world the good thing is that we can be free to voice our opinion, draw muhammed cartoons and question just what the heck is going on. It is a global market and that is part of the problem. Companies who have no morals and ethics that are drivers of profit that must always increase become corrupt, corrupt politicians and hell add the muslims who are extremeists into it and its just a big mess.
People who question it all just don’t understand the clash of cultures and the entitlement generation that we are building. Extremists are not going to go away if we stop chasing them and leave them alone. So the pacifists are confused because they believe that. Big government in the hands of big corporations is the trouble. It may be time to topple it all and the talk of revolution in the US is certainly on peoples lips. The population in America is armed to make sure the government behaves and it is not behaving. I, for one, want it to happen in the ballot box and with voting. But it may come to more drastic things with some of the more rough guys here in the US.
You bring up good points Peter and we MUST have a dialougue going and not ignore the problems. We must complain. But in the end, we must also act and so I propose that you all act now and stop waiting for someone else to do it. We all must take active control of our democracies or will we continue to allow others to control our lives?
It’s amazing.
hey man, you can’t just start the 1-in-5-million blog finally laying siege to all the hypernationalist garbage one encounters in denmark, providing so much solace to the foreigners stuck here for one reason or another (i.e., wife or husband), and then go 12 months without a post!
loyal lonely fans are waiting… or did you get so much hygge you died?
I am half Danish, but was raised in the U.S. (Los Angeles, California), but have many relatives in DK. Look, every country has their issues, no question. Which are worse, more/less tolerable, well, I guess that is up to the individuals living in each country to decide.
If you want Denmark to be more open to immigrants, just be prepared. The U.S. was built on immigrants – we are a mixing pot (notice I didn’t use the phrase melting pot – different concept). With a giant mixture of class, cultures, political beliefs and religions, comes crime, poverty and selfishness. You could say we are more tolerant or you could say we’ve become a nation of segregated sub-cultures. Travel across the U.S and you will find narrow-minded, bigoted hill-billies in small town South or head to Los Angeles where every walk of life exists openly. Just look at our politicians and government and you will see that we are a country divided. The American mantra is to each their own. The results of that mantra are not always pretty.
And I haven’t even mentioned our right-winged politicians attempt to give the boot to our Mexican-American immigrants (even though we actually stole their land).
The grass is always greener.
The rules are necessary, but in Denmark there are no
flexibility, I’ve been there, got married and I could not emigrate in this country!
We can make a nice place to live so just keep doing a good job Peter!
Thanks!!!
I have been trying to find a direct answer to my question:
Can a permanent resident vote in general elections in Denmark?
Many thanks