Death in Denmark

Abstract

The citizens of Denmark coolly regard themselves as blessed; repeated surveys have suggested that the country is considered one of the most pleasant places on the planet to live (a fact that does much to burnish national pride — and the Danes certainly have plenty of that). However, British and American observers, while accepting this conclusion, struggle to find the precise reason for the Danes’ satisfaction. Denmark is a country that does not lend itself to easy dissection or analysis (analysis of the kind that — rightly or wrongly — foreigners feel they can apply to Sweden). It is a very European country (Denmark is an EU member state) and many people live in what might be considered to be very comfortable circumstances by British standards. A further comparison with Britain is not necessarily to the advantage of the inhabitants of John Bull’s island: consensus politics, distinctly fraught territory in Britain, seems to function with relative success in Denmark. Another comparison with Britain might be noted in the fact that both countries have had to come to terms with the loss of empire; the British Empire is much celebrated (and criticised) but less well known is the fact that Denmark — despite the modest dimensions of the country — held sway over considerable parts of Europe (as of course, did Sweden). And in some ways, the national farewell to the imperial instinct seems to have been a less painless exercise for Denmark than it was in Britain.