Opinion poll in Denmark shows right-wing irony

[Demant]

There has been a growing right-wing in Denmark over the years, but this week, a new weapon was used in the fight against nationalism.

The Danish nationalist party, Danish People's Party, has claimed that muslims live in the middle age and that their society is as if it was built by cavemen.

But an opinion poll made by Capacent for the public TV and Radio company, Danmarks Radio, shows that 42% of Danish People's Party's voters think that hitting children is acceptable. Only 13% of the rest of the population (except for muslims and Danish People's Party's voters) think that it is acceptable, and only 7% of the muslims in Denmark agree.

This rises the question of who really live in the middle ages - the muslims or the nationalists.

The poll is interesting, because it shows an offensive angle towards the right-wing, something that we havn't really witnessed in Denmark before. The left-wing's respond to the nationalists, is usually defensive, as if they were shocked that anybody could have that opinion. But this could be the breakthrough we've been waiting for in Denmark, the right way to convert the many nationalists - by showing them the contradiction of their opinions.

The same opinion poll shows on the other matters that the Danish people (minus nationalists) and the Muslims are - seen from my point of view - in general much more progressive than those who claim islam is views from the middle age.

Percentage who agrees that ... is acceptable:

Hitting their children
Nationalists - 42%
Danes (minus muslims and nationalists) - 13%
Muslims - 7%

Illicit work
Nationalists: 41%
Danes: 14%
Muslims: 13%

Death penalty
Nationalists: 23%
Danes: 9%
Muslims: 15%

Women should take care of the home and children instead of working
Nationalists: 9%
Danes: 1%
Muslims: 10%

The term nationalists is used pretty loosely in this thread, my apologies to who it may concern.

Opinion poll source: Anders Kragh Jensen & Jakob Mathias Wichmann from Capacent made for Danmarks Radio (Published in Politiken, May 17 2009)

[Kamerat]

Nationalists are a bunch of hypocrites. From those numbers you can clearly see who has most middle age politics/opinions. Its sceary how many who think its acceptable to hit children.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

What is "Illicit Work"?

[Kamerat]

Illicit work is

an illegal employment. The working contract is made without social security costs and without paying income taxes. Illicit work is part of the informal economy or so called "shadow economy".

[fabilius]

This is very funny. How true, isn´t it what one´d call projection. It´s always the big reactionaries that worry about foreigners taking us back to medieval times.

At the same time they want everything to be just like it was in the 1950s.

Of course this poll shows also some reactionary thinking amongst the muslims, although not quite as bad as the nationalists.

[Demant]

I was positively surprised by the result as for the muslims. Of course there is a larger scale of people who wants women to stay home and to have death penalty, as some of them probably come from countries with traditions for this. Danes usually vote no, as it is one of our deepest roots in our minds to think that women and men are equal and that Denmark is a country without death penalty.

But how the nationalists can live their entire lives in a society where the men-women equality is so high and so supported, and where law everyday shows that it's working pretty well without death penalty, and STILL think that we should get these two things back to where it was in the dark ages .. is beyond me.

[scarletghoul]

Ha, cool. Some more questions would have been cool, also it should be done in the UK

[Demant]

I think it would be the same result in all of the european union.