Copenhagen Mayor candidate wants free kindergartens, Billund bomb threat trial begins and more news from Denmark this Tuesday.
Copenhagen mayor hopeful wants to make kindergartens free
Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil, the Social Democratic candidate for Copenhagen mayor in local elections to be held later this year, says she wants to make early childcare free in the Danish capital.
Municipal kindergartens or børnehaver generally cost up to 4,000 kroner per child monthly nationwide, a fee which is subsidized by local authorities. Vuggestue or creche, attended by babies as young as 9 months to toddlers aged 2, can cost over 5,000 kroner.
“Living costs in Copenhagen are laughably high,” Rosenkrantz-Theil told broadcaster DR.
“All we want to do with this proposal is to ease the strain on families with young children in Copenhagen by making kindergartens and creche free,” she said.
The proposal will cost the city around 800 million kroner per year, according to the candidate for mayor.
Social Democrat Lars Weiss is currently lord mayor of Copenhagen but is stepping down after the local elections. The party traditionally gains enough backing in the city for its candidate to become mayor but is under more threat than ever of losing out to another party this time around.
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Trial begins against man accused of Billund Airport bomb threat
Court proceedings begin in Kolding today against a 38-year-old Russian man who is accused of being behind a bomb scare at Billund Airport in April last year.
He is on trial for blowing up a cash machine at Legoland in Billund before throwing a bag into the terminal at the airport and shouting that it contained a bomb.
The incident resulted in around 10,000 people being evacuated from the airport and a nine-hour closure.
According to the charges against the man, reported by DR, he claimed during preliminary hearings to work for Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The explosive he used, TATP, is known to be frequently used by terrorists and is highly unstable, with small vibrations able to set it off.
The man faces charges including attempted theft and making threats, but is not on trial for terrorism.
A verdict is expected on September 15th.
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Liberal Alliance could back Liberal leader Poulsen for PM
Libertarian party Liberal Alliance, which is currently party of the right wing opposition, could support the leader of the Liberal (Venstre) party, Troels Lund Poulsen, if he makes a run for prime minister in the next election, DR reports.
Poulsen is currently Defence Minister as well as deputy PM in the coalition government, in which the Liberals have formed a centrist alliance with the Social Democrats and Moderates.
But should a more traditional configuration of right and left wing alliances form in future, Liberal Alliance would be willing to back Poulsen, leader Alex Vanopslagh said.
“If you imagine a scenario where there’s a conservative majority, and the Liberal say they want to pursue conservative policies together with us and that they want to lead, that wouldn’t be a nightmare scenario for me,” Vanopslagh said on the Berlingske newspaper podcast ‘Pilestræde’.
Poulsen is yet to state whether he will aim to become PM at the next election.
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Towns call for barriers at level crossings where fatal accidents occurred
A Danish mayor has demanded better safety at level crossings after two fatal accidents in the last year.
The Mayor of Aabenraa, Jan Riber Jakobsen, said plans to introduce new safety measures in 2027 at five unstaffed level crossings in the area are not good enough, after two fatal accidents occurred within a year.
National rail infrastructure Banedanmark has stated that barriers will not be put in place at the crossings before 2027.
The crossings currently use warning lights and bells to warn road traffic that a train is approaching the crossings.