'Is it welfair?' signs asked visitors at the demonstration on Tuesday against the government's plan to make cutbacks in public spending in the coming years. And apparently many people didn't find the plan fair from a welfare perspective.
The union arrangers of the demonstration estimated the number of demonstrators to be around 80.000, whereas the police estimated the crowd to be around 40.000. So somewhere in between is the likely figure.
'Stop the thief' is one of the union campaign slogans, with photos of representatives from the sitting governement support party. Among other areas to be hit, the very popular 'children's cheque' (benefits for families with children) are to be reduced, the time wages for students at the technical schools are to be cut in half, the maintenance allowance period is to be halved, hospital units are to be closed down, the annual development aid is to be frozen. And so on.
'This is about the welfare society in general,' chair person Grete Christensen from DSR (the nurses union) responded to the PN question if the nurses hadn't been satisfied during the various demonstration in the past decade, most recently during the 'more hands' campaign and demonstration in June two years ago. She was there to voice her support to all groups and the danes in general who would be hit by the cutbacks.
'In five years it will be a problem for the schools, in ten years it will cause problems for the social authorities, and in fifteen years it will be a problem for the police - if we don't act now,' a representative Mia Skou Jørgensen, vice-chair person from BUPL in the capital (the union for children and youth pedagogues) parrotted a campaign slogan.
Union leaders (LO, 3F, BUPL, DSR, FTF, etc), representatives from youth organisations, and NGO leaders gave speeches, among them MS Action Aid. Musicians gave suporting concerts, groups of people were singing, shouting, jumping for change. And protesters were there from all groups to put welfare back on the agenda. Most versions of communist parties dissolved themselves and instead united in The Red-Green Alliance (Ø) from the beginning of the 90'ies. But there were also demonstrators from 'the remaining resistance' of the communist party. To the PN question whether the communist party wasn't an anachronism, the communist party leader Jørgen Petersen responded:
'I think that capitalism is an anachronism. It has shown that it is unable to ensure people the basic human rights and the right to work. Within the past decade, 110.000 industry workplaces have been laid down. And now we face new anti-social cutbacks. The communists are representatives for a future sustainable Denmark in solidarity. We plan to head for the next municipal elections,' the red chairman quickly rebuffed.
Even from the vantage point of equestrian statue of King Frederik VII - who signed the Constitution on 5th June 1849 - the demonstrators were heard. All in all a solidarity demonstration for better welfare and welfair for all. The demonstrations on Tuesday 8th June worked as a very fitting backdrop to the Constitution Day celebration, just days before.