Berkley Center

The US presidential election is important to Americans, but also to Danes. Denmark is a NATO member critical of the organization’s actions towards Libya. Denmark has also contributed troops to the coalitions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Danish businesses, like the software company CLC Bio, have offices in the United States, and many US companies, such as the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, have offices in Denmark. Most Americans are not aware of their connection to Denmark while most Danes understand the United States’ influence abroad.

I’m often asked who I am voting for in the US presidential wlection here in Denmark. Many Danes, but not all, have the same favorite in the election, and some wonder if I share their views. President Obama’s international reputation for being more open to pleasant relationships with European countries compared to Republican, or more anti-European culture, counterparts is reflected in Danish media. I haven’t found a story in Politiken, the widely read politics newspaper, which portrays Romney as fair and objective or Obama as a bad leader.

Despite inevitable focus on individual Danish politicians in Danish media, university-aged Danes I have spoken with feel US politics is based too much on individuals and party feuds and not on policy. In Denmark the prime minister chairs and sets the agenda for the meetings of the council of ministers (equivalent to the cabinet of the president’s secretaries of departments) and gathers support in the Folketing (parliament) for legislation. However, all processes must be based on compromise. Denmark has three major political parties, four or five significant parties, and a few smaller ones. A coalition is always needed to have enough support for the election of a prime minister, and rarely does the prime minister’s coalition have the majority in the Folketing. When it comes to voting for prime minster there are not many choices, like in the United States for the president, but coalitions and majorities change frequently.

University-aged Danes I have spoken with are also surprised that American voting rates are so low, 42 percent across the country in 2010. A lot of university-aged Americans I have spoken with say their vote won’t count because they live in a state that is too Democratic or Republican, and they want to vote for the other party. Unfortunately, not voting means leaders know a lot less about the preferences and interests of their constituents. One Dane told me it is better to turn in a blank ballot so it is known you didn’t have a preference between the candidates than to turn in no ballot. The voting rate in Denmark was 88 percent in 2011. I get the impression that Danes feel they have more influence in politics than Americans feel they do. Danes might feel they don’t have much influence, but a lot of Americans feel they don’t have any.

Maybe Danes feel closer to their government than Americans. Danes do have more government sponsored services at their disposal. If they pay taxes they have access to healthcare, all levels of higher education, nursing homes, and retirement support. Their income tax can be broken down as social contribution tax (8 percent), health insurance tax (8 percent), local tax (23 to 28 percent), state tax (4 percent), and an additional state tax if you make over DKK 389,900 or about $70,000 (15 percent), but the sum of these taxes cannot exceed 51.5 percent.

Americans also have government services like high schools, police forces, veterans’ hospitals, etc. In the United States the income tax varies between 10 percent and 35 percent depending on your income, but it isn’t always clear to the average American what the money goes to. Both Danes and Americans have a financial and practical interest in making sure their money is being used well, government services are of high quality, and their interests are represented. Why do Americans have opinions and stakes in their local, state, and federal elections but not vote as frequently as Danes? Does our indirect voting structure, culture, or congress need reform? Compromise will be key if the answer to any of these questions is yes.

Feel free to leave a response or contact me. There’s obviously a lot more to this topic.

> US Presidential Election Coverage in Two Danish Newspapers: Politiken and Berlingske

> Danish Political System

> Danish Voting

> US Voting 

> Danish Taxes 

> US Taxes