THE ALTERNATIVE

Alternativet ("the Alternative") is a new political party in Denmark. Founded by a former Culture Minister, who was felled because he had used his partner's private offices for public cultural events, it has quickly managed to acquire the thousands of signatures required before a party can run in a general election.

The Alternative's policies are, to put it mildly, a bit batty. Its two most well-known are that all Danish agriculture should be organic (there's not enough land for that); and that the working week should be reduced from 37 hours to 30 (which would lead to a Greek-like economy, according to experts). Despite that, it obviously appeals to a section of society, which is fed up both with the current emphasis on economic austerity and with politicians in general. A party needs a minimum 2% of votes under Denmark's system of proportional representation in order to gain seats in Parliament; at the moment the Alternative is polling 4%.

All of which means that in an increasingly tight race before the general election on 18 June, the Alternative matters. And that is reflected in the increasingly shrill tone with which the mainstream parties are denouncing it as a lunatic fringe. It is a lunatic fringe; however, in bashing it so vehemently, those parties are giving it a credibility which it would otherwise lack. I would have ignored it and let people make up their own minds.

Walter Blotscher