A REVOLUTION

A revolution is going on in Denmark. Not on the streets, but in the voting booths.

The cause is the Friday evening programme "Vild Med Dans" ("wild about dance"), the Danish equivalent of Strictly Come Dancing, and in particular the performance of Allan Simonsen. Simonsen, now 60, was a very good Danish football player in the 1970's and 1980's. In 1977, he was chosen as European footballer of the year, ahead of Kevin Keegan, even though Keegan's Liverpool had beaten Simonsen's Borussia Mönchengladbach in the final of that year's European Cup. Simonsen remains the only Scandinavian to have won the award.

Sportspeople are usually good at the dance format, being fit, naturally competitive, and in control of their bodies. The cricketers Mark Ramprakash and Darren Gough have won in the U.K.; and the shotputter Joachim B. Olesen and skier Sophie Fjellvang-Sølling have won here. But there's a problem with Simonsen, he can't dance for toffee. He makes me look positively elegant, something my daughter would think was nigh on impossible.  

Normally, the judges go easy on people who are really bad. But Simonsen was so bad that the exasperated experts ended up being rather rude. That in turn provoked a reaction, which has spread like wildfire on social media such as Facebook and Twitter; no matter how bad Simonsen is, vote for him. Since the rules of the programme mean that viewers' SMS's carry more weight than the views of the judges, it means that Simonsen has cruised through round after round, even though he can't dance at all. More talented, and more obviously talented, contestants have had to leave.

I haven't watched this year's series, since apart from Simonsen, I hadn't heard of any of the other contestants. But I note that the Danish revolution continues; after tonight's programme, he is through to the semi-final.

Danish commentators see in all this a desire by Mr. and Mrs. Average Dane to give the powers-that-be a good kicking, a desire that is not confined to dance programmes. The local elections on Tuesday look like producing similar results.

Walter Blotscher