Category Archives: Denmark

There’s an election on Tuesday, and Copenhagen is plastered with campaign posters. Many of these posters are targets of…umm… creative alteration, but none more so than the Dansk Folkeparti posters. In fact it’s rare to see one that hasn’t been somehow abused. Apparently the vandalism is so widespread that the party had to replace most or all of them. If they did, I certainly didn’t notice, probably because the vandals quickly soiled the new ones.

I have mixed feelings about this vandalism. On the one hand there should be freedom of speech, and a party should be able to run for office without having posters that they pay for ruined. On the other hand, it’s pretty funny.

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There is an ultra-conservative party in Denmark called Dansk Folkeparti, or “Danish People’s party”. Their primary concern is the Muslim population — mostly focusing on keeping them out. This party was co-founded by Pia Kjærsgaard (that’s her in the poster), who is… notoriously hardcore. Here’s an ad for the party.

These are both in Nørreport station. The second has creatively altered by, no doubt, some of the many Danes that are embarrassed by the party. The poster says, “Solidarity – we stand firm for our Danish values”, but the quotes from party members reveal a bit more than just protecting values. In fact several party individuals have been taken to court for making racist comments. Here’s a classic Dansk Folkeparti quote:

“We know the problem lies in those Muslim groups that come from the Middle East, and that other immigrant groups are harmless. So if Denmark shall not lock itself in totally, we have to distinguish between ethnic and religious groups. In fact I mean simply Muslims from all countries and not just in the Middle East.”

There are more quotes here.

There’s also a pretty good description of the Danish immigration issue as seen from an American perspective here. Here’s an excerpt:

“As an American, I tend to look at immigration as a long-term phenomenon. We’ve been through it repeatedly. Danes have not. They’re anxious. DF represents the sharpest and ugliest articulation of their anxieties.”