Denmark to ditch public vacation to assist satisfy NATO costs objective

Danish legislators voted to eliminate a springtime public vacation from the nationwide calendar and strategy to utilize the cost savings to increase military costs.

Denmark’s 179- seat Parliament on Tuesday voted by 95 to 68 to authorize the centrist union federal government’s proposition to scrap Store Bededag, or Great Prayer Day, from next year.

Great Prayer Day is a spiritual vacation that falls on the 4th Friday after Easter.

The freshly formed federal government stated the cancellation of the general public vacation would offer an extra 3 billion Danish krone (approximately $430 million). The lion’s share of this will then be utilized to raise the nation’s defense costs and bring it in line with NATO’s target of 2% of gdp.

The questionable costs, which was proposed in December, has actually been greatly slammed by spiritual groups, trade unions and legislators from throughout the political spectrum. However, opposition legislators stopped working to settle on calling a referendum on the concern.

“Stop the thief,” stated Karsten Hønge, a member of the Socialist People’s Party, according to The AssociatedPress “The government is ordering people to work one day more.”

Nearly 500,000 individuals signed an online petition to keep the vacation since Wednesday.

Last month, countless individuals assembled outside the Danish Parliament structure in the capital Copenhagen to oppose the costs.

Unions arranging the demonstration approximated a minimum of 50,000 individuals participated in the presentation, which Reuters reported would make it the nation’s most significant presentation in more than a years.

Led by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Denmark’s union of the Social Democrats, the Liberals and the Moderates has stated the costs remained in part a reaction to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Workers in Demark presently have 11 public vacations.