Today in Denmark: A roundup of the news on Monday
A possible new (but also old) name in the running for prime minister, Danish island brings in social care staff from Europe, and other news from Denmark on Monday.
Election: Commentators write off one PM candidate – but put another on the list
Last night saw the latest television debate between the three party leaders hoping to be elected Danish prime minister on November 1st. Several newspapers this morning write in their political opinion columns that one of the three, Conservative party leader Søren Pape Poulsen, is now a rank outsider.
Poulsen has seen excellent polling numbers earlier this year fall away sharply, putting him well behind the other ‘blue bloc’ candidate, Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, as the most likely candidate to oust sitting PM Mette Frederiksen.
READ ALSO: ‘Bloc politics’: A guide to understanding parliamentary elections in Denmark
Another figure is increasingly being spoken about as a dark horse in the race: Frederiksen’s predecessor Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who is leading his newly-formed party the Moderates into their first election.
The Moderates are edging upwards in the polls and Rasmussen has placed himself in what could be a very expedient position for negotiations once votes are cast, experts say.
Rasmussen has denied his ambition is to get his old job back.
We’ll have more detail on these election developments in an article today.
READ ALSO: Who are Denmark’s 13 political parties and what election pledges have they made?
Danish island hires social care workers from EU countries due to shortage
The municipal government on southern island Lolland has taken to hiring staff from Spain, Italy and Hungary to address a major shortage of social care staff, broadcaster DR reports.
The last six months has seen more than 15,000 available positions in the social care or SOSU sector go unfilled, according to government figures reported by DR.
Lolland said it was short of 90 personnel and had now begun the process of hiring staff from the EU.
“16 have said ‘yes’, and they have begun an intensive language course online. That means they are now sitting at home acquiring the basic language skills,” Lolland’s mayor Holger Schou Rasmussen told DR.
They will later study in Denmark and will be ready to join the Danish labour market in March, according to the plan.
READ ALSO: Could Denmark’s election result affect work permit and citizenship rules?
Companies’ overheads in small decrease
This year has seen operating costs for companies go through the roof, primarily because of inflation and the increasing price of energy.
Some positive news on this front comes from Statistics Denmark today, which reports a 1.9 percent decrease in the cost of raw materials for Danish companies in September compared to August.
This is the first time costs have gone down in over six months and is a tentative suggestion that businesses have seen the worst of inflation, an analyst said.
“It gives some hope that inflation will peak in the near future,” economist Jeppe Buul Borre of Arbejdernes Landsbank told news wire Ritzau.
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Election: Commentators write off one PM candidate – but put another on the list
Last night saw the latest television debate between the three party leaders hoping to be elected Danish prime minister on November 1st. Several newspapers this morning write in their political opinion columns that one of the three, Conservative party leader Søren Pape Poulsen, is now a rank outsider.
Poulsen has seen excellent polling numbers earlier this year fall away sharply, putting him well behind the other ‘blue bloc’ candidate, Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, as the most likely candidate to oust sitting PM Mette Frederiksen.
READ ALSO: ‘Bloc politics’: A guide to understanding parliamentary elections in Denmark
Another figure is increasingly being spoken about as a dark horse in the race: Frederiksen’s predecessor Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who is leading his newly-formed party the Moderates into their first election.
The Moderates are edging upwards in the polls and Rasmussen has placed himself in what could be a very expedient position for negotiations once votes are cast, experts say.
Rasmussen has denied his ambition is to get his old job back.
We’ll have more detail on these election developments in an article today.
READ ALSO: Who are Denmark’s 13 political parties and what election pledges have they made?
Danish island hires social care workers from EU countries due to shortage
The municipal government on southern island Lolland has taken to hiring staff from Spain, Italy and Hungary to address a major shortage of social care staff, broadcaster DR reports.
The last six months has seen more than 15,000 available positions in the social care or SOSU sector go unfilled, according to government figures reported by DR.
Lolland said it was short of 90 personnel and had now begun the process of hiring staff from the EU.
“16 have said ‘yes’, and they have begun an intensive language course online. That means they are now sitting at home acquiring the basic language skills,” Lolland’s mayor Holger Schou Rasmussen told DR.
They will later study in Denmark and will be ready to join the Danish labour market in March, according to the plan.
READ ALSO: Could Denmark’s election result affect work permit and citizenship rules?
Companies’ overheads in small decrease
This year has seen operating costs for companies go through the roof, primarily because of inflation and the increasing price of energy.
Some positive news on this front comes from Statistics Denmark today, which reports a 1.9 percent decrease in the cost of raw materials for Danish companies in September compared to August.
This is the first time costs have gone down in over six months and is a tentative suggestion that businesses have seen the worst of inflation, an analyst said.
“It gives some hope that inflation will peak in the near future,” economist Jeppe Buul Borre of Arbejdernes Landsbank told news wire Ritzau.
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