Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and the newly-formed Danish coalition government are expecting their fellow Danes to drop a historic Christian Holiday that has existed for over 300 years in order to replenish the war chest scraped bare by the country's recent actions.
“What we are asking for is for the Danes to work one more day so that we can live up to our international obligations in defense and security policy,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said, adding that the Danes must contribute “a little more” to the country’s defense.
Frederiksen furthermore mused that the Danes get away “relatively cheaply” with respect to military investments.
“The whole idea of this is that we need to finance increased defense spending,” Frederiksen added.
According to the plan, Danes will lose their day off on the so-called Great Prayer Day, introduced by the Church of Denmark and King Christian V in 1686. It falls on the fourth Friday after Easter and three weeks before Pentecost and is seen as a more efficient alternative to individually celebrating a number of holidays honoring various minor saints in the Spring. Originally, it was used for penance, prayer and fasting.
However, numerous pundits stressed that Danish wage earners are quite happy with the existing holidays and warned that the government must expect considerable opposition, as abolishing the day off will in practice mean that the Danes will work one more day each year without getting paid.
Indeed, the plans didn’t go over well with the Danish trade unions. The Danish Confederation of Trade Unions, which organizes more than 1.3 million members in a country of 5.8 million, said the news came like a bolt from the blue.
“This is a right that wage earners have today. I believe that a government cannot simply remove such a right,” its leader Lizette Risgaard told Danish media, slamming the government for failing to enter a dialogue with the trade unions.
HK Handel, which organizes store employees, also voiced its dismay over the proposal.
“We believe this is a great pity. Great Prayer Day is for many of our members one of the few days of the year when you have time off and spend it with family and friends. We work Saturday and Sunday and all other days of the week. Holidays are something very special for us,” trade union leader Mette Hogh told Danish media.
Previously, Danish defense capabilities have been undermined by Copenhagen’s decision to send military help, including Harpoon missiles and other weapons to assist Kiev.
Overall, the West has poured billions in arms assistance to Ukraine, where Russia is conducting a special military operation, to the point of depleting its own arsenals. However, despite the myriad problems facing the Washington-led Western coalition supporting Ukraine (including assorted weaponry sipping through onto the black market), it appears to be hell-bent on funneling further military and financial assistance, thus further fanning the flames of the conflict.
Moscow has consistently pointed out that military assistance to Kiev accomplishes nothing but drawing out the conflict.