Denmark last celebrated the Store Day of Prayer (German: “Great Day of Prayer”) on Friday, which will be abolished from 2024. The reason for the abolition is expenditure on the military – the 400 million euros earned in this way could meet the NATO target of two percent. Many Danes are outraged.
The deletion, which parliament decided at the end of February, is intended to pump money into the state coffers to finance higher military spending. The new government of social democrats, the right-liberal Venstre and the new Moderaterna party, however, stuck to its decision.
The holiday was introduced in 1686. From 2024, shopping holiday, which always falls on the fourth Friday after Easter, will become a very normal working day. The money that flows into the state treasury as a result should be used to finance higher military expenditures.
Day only served long weekend?
The day was now regarded more as an institutionalized long weekend than a religious holiday, but the fact that the money it raised would be used for armaments expenditure caused great dismay in the church. The unions also took to the barricades, demanding a referendum and mobilizing tens of thousands of demonstrators in front of the government seat of Christiansborg.
Military spending must be doubled
However, the abolition is still being implemented. According to the cabinet, this is necessary because of a NATO requirement – according to which member states must use two percent of their gross domestic product for their defense budget. Last year, Denmark with 27 billion kroner (3.6 billion euros) only reached one percent – the NATO target should already be achieved by 2030.
The Danish Ministry of Economic Affairs calculated that the extra working day would bring about three billion Danish kroner (400 million euros) into the state coffers and that this measure would create 8,500 full-time jobs. The ministry later reduced this number to 6,500. Both calculations are hotly contested by economists.
Source: Krone
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