THE DANISH GENERAL ELECTION (2)

After failing to get agreement on his "growth package" designed to kickstart the moribund Danish economy, Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen today called a general election for 15 September.

The campaign is already in full swing, and I am currently watching the first debate between the party leaders; more on that another time. In the meantime, two things about Danish elections which always strike me as a bit odd.

First, the only real adverts are large pictures of Parliamentary candidates tied to lampposts. As you drive through a village in Denmark during the next three weeks, you will be bombarded by large smiling faces of people you have never seen before. The day after the election, they will all disappear.

Secondly, those pictures will include a big capital letter, which represents the political party (these letters are also on the ballot papers). Unfortunately, the capital letters don't have anything to do with the names of the parties themselves. So, the "Radikale Venstre" is B, the "Socialdemokraterne" is A, and the "Konservative Folkeparti" is C. And in case you think it goes alphabetically, the "Dansk Folkeparti" is O and the "Liberal Alliance" is I. So there.

Walter Blotscher