Denmark tries to end holiday to increase defense spending and enrages population

Tens of thousands of Danes took to the streets this Sunday, 5, to demonstrate against a government project that envisages abolishing a holiday to help increase defense spending, amid the war in Ukraine. “It’s a totally unfair proposal”, said Lizette Risgaard, leader of the FH union federation, which organized the demonstration and has 1.3 million members in the country, out of almost 6 million inhabitants. According to the police and organizers, around 50,000 demonstrators gathered in front of Parliament. The coalition government of Denmark, led by Social Democrat Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, wants to scrap a religious holiday that has existed since the 17th century in order to use the money generated to increase the Defense budget to 2% of GDP by 2030, three years before the predicted, and to meet the NATO target. The Executive, formed by left and right parties, insists that the measure is necessary due to the new military context arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but the unions consider that the measure violates the salary agreements negotiated with the government. “The next time Parliament says more money is needed, they will eliminate another holiday or some Sunday,” claimed union leader Lizette Risgaard. “I don’t believe money for war is going to make peace,” said Kurt Frederiksen, head of the hotel and restaurant branch at the 3F union.