Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Monday
Whether the prime minister will call an election and schools struggling to keep the lights on are among the top news stories in Denmark on Monday.
15 day countdown: will PM Frederiksen call election?
Amid the fallout from Minkgate, the Social Liberals (De Radikale) have threatened to pull the rug out from under prime minister Mette Frederiksen's government if she doesn't call an election by their deadline of October 4th.
However, Frederiksen says she'd prefer to focus on issues facing Danes — including the energy crisis — than political intrigue and says it's up to the Social Liberals to decide their position.
She adds it would be "unforgivable if some political parties' discussion with each other should overshadow or prevent us from making the necessary decisions," newswire Ritzau reports.
READ ALSO: How likely is Denmark to have a general election ahead of schedule?
Schools struggle with light bills...
An association of schools, afterschools, and daycares has appealed to the government for help with astronomical electrical bills, according to a press release.
"We have several schools that are currently paying three times as much as they usually do to heat the premises," says Peter Bendix Pedersen, chairman of Friskolerne, on behalf of the association.
"One of the consequences of the rising prices is that if a school, a kindergarten or an institution gets such a large bill that they cannot borrow money, they will have to close," he says.
The association hopes to join the government programme, currently outlined for private citizens, to freeze payments to last year's level. The remainder of the balance can be paid in instalments over the next several years.
READ ALSO: 10 ways EU countries plan to cut your energy bills and avoid blackouts this winter
...while aquariums and zoos stay afloat.
Kastrup's aquarium Den Blå Planet reports issues with its towering electricity bills, but Denmark's other aquariums and zoos believe they can weather the storm.
"It will not threaten our existence, but it is certainly something we would have liked to do without," Karsten Bjerrum Nielsen, director of the Kattegat center in Grenaa, tells Ritzau. The Kattegat Center has managed to whittle down its dependence on the grid considerably by replacing its pump system and "plastering" the roof with solar cells, he says.
The Kattegat Center and several other aquariums in Denmark have longstanding fixed-price agreements for some of their consumption — housing animals requires near constant cleaning, heating, and cooling of the water.
Future care workers and childcare professionals could be paid more to study
Frederiksen has proposed certain students, including those training to work in health and childcare, should receive salaries earlier in their studies. It's designed to sweeten the pot for students considering a career in sectors desperate for new workers, Frederiksen explains.
However, representatives from other industries — including the police association and Danish Metal — see the potential measure as interfering with the free job market by singling out these educations among many others hoping to recruit more workers.
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15 day countdown: will PM Frederiksen call election?
Amid the fallout from Minkgate, the Social Liberals (De Radikale) have threatened to pull the rug out from under prime minister Mette Frederiksen's government if she doesn't call an election by their deadline of October 4th.
However, Frederiksen says she'd prefer to focus on issues facing Danes — including the energy crisis — than political intrigue and says it's up to the Social Liberals to decide their position.
She adds it would be "unforgivable if some political parties' discussion with each other should overshadow or prevent us from making the necessary decisions," newswire Ritzau reports.
READ ALSO: How likely is Denmark to have a general election ahead of schedule?
Schools struggle with light bills...
An association of schools, afterschools, and daycares has appealed to the government for help with astronomical electrical bills, according to a press release.
"We have several schools that are currently paying three times as much as they usually do to heat the premises," says Peter Bendix Pedersen, chairman of Friskolerne, on behalf of the association.
"One of the consequences of the rising prices is that if a school, a kindergarten or an institution gets such a large bill that they cannot borrow money, they will have to close," he says.
The association hopes to join the government programme, currently outlined for private citizens, to freeze payments to last year's level. The remainder of the balance can be paid in instalments over the next several years.
READ ALSO: 10 ways EU countries plan to cut your energy bills and avoid blackouts this winter
...while aquariums and zoos stay afloat.
Kastrup's aquarium Den Blå Planet reports issues with its towering electricity bills, but Denmark's other aquariums and zoos believe they can weather the storm.
"It will not threaten our existence, but it is certainly something we would have liked to do without," Karsten Bjerrum Nielsen, director of the Kattegat center in Grenaa, tells Ritzau. The Kattegat Center has managed to whittle down its dependence on the grid considerably by replacing its pump system and "plastering" the roof with solar cells, he says.
The Kattegat Center and several other aquariums in Denmark have longstanding fixed-price agreements for some of their consumption — housing animals requires near constant cleaning, heating, and cooling of the water.
Future care workers and childcare professionals could be paid more to study
Frederiksen has proposed certain students, including those training to work in health and childcare, should receive salaries earlier in their studies. It's designed to sweeten the pot for students considering a career in sectors desperate for new workers, Frederiksen explains.
However, representatives from other industries — including the police association and Danish Metal — see the potential measure as interfering with the free job market by singling out these educations among many others hoping to recruit more workers.
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