Right-wing parties criticize Social Democrats in joint statement, high chance of shooting stars tonight and Metro trains get a makeover. Here’s Denmark’s news on Wednesday.
Right-wing parties accuse the Social Democrats of breaking the pension agreement
The Liberals and the Conservatives accused the Social Democrats on Tuesday of blocking any attempt to form a government with the two right-wing parties. According to the leaders of the two parties, this is due to the fact that the Social Democrats no longer recognize a welfare agreement made back in 2006, which among other things agreed that the pension age should rise in line with life expectancy.
“The fact that they are ignoring this issue ‒ which is completely central to the Danish economy ‒ is blocking the way for further government negotiations,” Liberal Party leader Troels Lund Poulsen and Conservative Party leader Mona Juul wrote in identical statements on Tuesday.
Prior to the election, the Social Democrats announced that they want to change the welfare agreement so that the pension age will rise at a slower rate in the future.
“(Social Democrat leader) Mette Frederiksen has told us that the foundation for Denmark’s economy and welfare ‒ the life expectancy indexation, which is also known as the Welfare Agreement ‒ has expired,” the party leaders wrote.
“Simply because technically the Moderates are not considered a part of the agreement.”
The Moderate Party was formed in 2021, fifteen years after the welfare agreement was made.
The Social Democrats responded by saying that they would be willing to reaffirm the welfare agreement once a government has been formed.
Danish vocabulary: the welfare settlement ‒ welfare agreement
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Copenhagen metro trains back from makeover in Rotterdam
The first metro train to receive a makeover in Rotterdam has returned to Copenhagen, according to a press release from Metroselskabet, the company in charge of the Copenhagen metro.
The train, which is one of the 34 on the M1 and M2 line which have been running since 2002, has been painted, had all doors changed and had a new floor and new lights installed. The seats have also been moved so that they are no longer placed in blocks of two seats facing each other, but rather they are placed running along the sides of the train so that there is space for more passengers.
The new train will now undergo tests and is expected to be functional in around eight weeks.
Danish vocabulary: modernization ‒ renovation/modernisation
New direct trains from Germany to Copenhagen to launch this spring
From late spring this year, it is set to become even easier to reach German cities from the Danish capital. A new international rail service will bring same-day, direct trains linking the Czech Republic, Germany and Denmark – for the first time in over a decade.
This will include new direct connections from cities such as Dresden, Berlin or Hamburg to Copenhagen – something that didn’t previously exist on this rail corridor.
The full journey from Prague to Copenhagen is scheduled to take around 11 hours, with Dresden–Copenhagen expected to take around nine hours.
Trains will also call at Berlin and Hamburg en route.
Originally due to launch in early May, full service has now been pushed back to June 14th – a delay which Czech Railways has linked to ongoing construction works on the heavily used Berlin–Hamburg rail corridor.
Danish vocabulary: Germany ‒ Germany
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Meteor shower over Denmark could bring 20 shooting stars an hour
The Lyrid meteor shower, named after the constellation Lyra, peaks over the next few days, which in other words means that there will be a lot of shooting stars in the night sky over Denmark tonight.
According to TV2, there could be as many as 20 shooting stars an hour, caused by leftover dust or debris which enters the Earth’s atmosphere as the planet passes through the path of a comet.
For the best view, head somewhere with as little light pollution as possible and let your eyes get used to the darkness – the stars will be quite faint.
Danish weather agency DMI predicts clear and cold weather during the night, which is good news. For the best chance of seeing the stars, wait until the moon has set, around 1:45am.
If you miss out then don’t worry – there will be another meteor shower at the beginning of May.
Danish vocabulary: shooting star ‒ shooting stars (also the name of a traditional sandwich with fish and prawns)
