DIGITAL POST

A revolution is afoot in Denmark. As of today, everybody is supposed to have a digital postbox, so that the authorities can communicate with you electronically instead of by post. You can opt out if you want to, if, for instance, you are elderly and don't like computers; but you have to formally do so. Apparently there are 1,145, 614 people (just under a quarter of the population) who have neither opted out nor set up their digital postbox. They will automatically get one (though I don't know how they will be told they will get one). I was nearly one of those, but managed to set mine up last week ((I think!).

Once the system is up and running, on 1 December there will be another change. The number of public services where you have to apply online will rise dramatically. Building permits, pensions, child benefit, address registration, parking permits and lots of other things will all be handled electronically. Personal service will, quite literally, disappear.

This may be efficient, but not everybody is happy about the change. Most worries concern the elderly, who don't use computers very much, and who like to talk to a human. The Government is giving out soothing noises, that they will be well taken care of, but I suspect that there will be lots of complaints in the local paper from outraged citizens in the weeks and months ahead.

Walter Blotscher