Last Week in Denmark

Raising Denmark’s Share Account Limit, Reviewing International Student Permits, More Women Candidates in Politics: LWID S4E11

• Season 4 • Episode 11

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Change is taking root in Denmark. Two long term international living in Denmark, Kalpita and Narcis, tackle three big stories in this conversation: the proposal to raise Denmark’s share account limit, the review of Bangladeshi and Nepali student permits, and the rise of women and internationals in local elections. Each topic asks what kind of Denmark we’re investing in, who gets to belong, and how change really happens.

Topics: 

(01:05) Raising Denmark’s Share Account Limit

(04:54) Reviewing International Student Permits

(14:56) More Women Candidates in Politics

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Kalpita:

Hi everyone. Welcome to yet another episode of Last Week in Denmark podcast. This is Kalpita and I have the very nice Nasis, who's also the founder of last week.

Narcis:

Hello everyone. Long time no see.

Kalpita:

Indeed you have a busy old bottom going on, which we will talk. Yeah, we will talk more about that in a bit. But we have some very interesting topics very, very different from each other. The first one is we're talking about there's been a proposal to raise the share account so as they call it Aksha pa concho to 500000 Danish corner. There's another one which has been a very, very popular and controversial. A lot of people are talking about. This is about all exist students from Bangladesh and Nepal will be reviewed. And lastly, where Nasis and I will spend most time is talking about local and regional candidates. This year there are almost 35% are women, which is very, very interesting. But do you. What do you think Nasis, about the 500,000 raise? Do you like that? You don't like that?

Narcis:

First of all, we're talking about, right, Interest organizations want more people to invest, right? Or finance Denmark and so on. They say, oh, too much money are just sitting on people's accounts and they're not working, they're not doing anything and they want more money to be available to companies for capitalization. Right? So, so to do that they need to convince people to, to invest. But you know, the, the, the capital tax in Denmark is quite high capital gain tax, so it's not so worth it to do it. But this special account, Axies Paraconto, the tax on its returns is 17% which is very attractive compared to the other option. Oh yeah. So that's why they hope that if they make this account higher. So basically should you be able to invest more money and make them work for you and pay less taxes compared to now? And that's why the interest organizations are pushing for this. The government is not super, well, let's just say keen about it because obviously it's lost money in taxes. But the interest Organizations, they want to make that happen because they think that if more people start investing, more people will be interested in the market. And as we all have seen, people who invest, they do quite well. If you have invested in gold, if you have invested in real estate, you have invested in actions, everyone has had a very good year. Well, if you had money to begin with in first place, did you make any investments yourself?

Kalpita:

I do dabble a bit in the. In the share market. Of course, I don't have 500,000 Danish, that would be fantastic. But I'm from India and we believe in gold and gold provides liquidity. So I'm here for gold. Gold has never fallen, it has always appreciated. So gold, Gold is always a safer bet. But I do like this proposal and I think it's a good one because people have the money and everyone's keeping the money close to them. No one's spending. The housing market is shit, there's a lot of inflation going on, so no one wants to shell out their money and buy anything. But then putting that money in the market is very lucrative. You can also do that through the bank, which also gives you some sort of anonymity, but also gives less to do while the bank does everything for you and you get a return or you get whatever profit sharing as you choose based on what your agreement with the bank is. So if you have the money, it's pretty wise to actually invest and get something more out of it than just having money sitting there.

Narcis:

It's already possible to invest anyway. I mean, if you have 100,000 plus kronas sitting around, you can still open this Axia espare conto. And one thing that's quite important is that it's smarter to gather money like 50,000, 60,000 and put them all at once on this account. Because then it's cheaper because you pay for every transaction, right? So to avoid that, to have as few transactions as possible between you and the account, then place a massive, let's just say, bag of money at once and forget about it. Look at it in five years from now.

Kalpita:

Yeah, that's true. And you can also choose your level of risk if you wanted low risk, medium high. Worth talking to your bank and finding out what your possibilities are. And also check on the taxes and interest rates that they offer as well. Very, very handy. And especially in uncertain times. Right now, it's best to invest your money than sit on it. Anyway, on that note, shall we move on to the next one?

Narcis:

Yeah.

Kalpita:

My heart goes out to, to the students from Bangladesh Nepal and any other third world country, according to Denmark, is here actually attending school and making money on the side. But their permits are now going to be reviewed and their permits are going to be reviewed under very, very strict conditions. We have all been listening to and reading about how all universities are not accepting non EU applications. They are also reviewing all non EU students and their attendance as well.

Narcis:

Okay. All menu as well. I didn't know about that. Okay.

Kalpita:

Yeah, they're taking very strict measures. I do to some extent understand why specifically these countries, but I also do not understand why this is not something that was looked into before. Because they are not the only ones who get admission and seek jobs. Everyone needs to do jobs, especially those who do not get su. What do you think, Nasis?

Narcis:

I mean here it's a. A complicated matter because on one hand I understand the universities, they need international students, especially non EU students because they get this extra income that's not coming from the state. They tuition fees. Right? Because this is all about that, it's about the tuition fees. Can they get it? Can they supplement the money they have? Because otherwise a lot of the universities will be close to bankruptcy, just like Robert Roskilde was. To save themselves, they had to do this. You know, they saw this as a saving plan. But so at the same time they were very lenient on accepting as many people willing to pay as possible because they have quotas on European students. Right. They don't allow that many European students to come because you know, it's not as profitable for them. But non Europeans, they pushed a lot on it lately because they supplemented their income with it and that kept them floating. So that's interesting. It's a matter of economics. It's always a matter of economics.

Kalpita:

Yeah, I didn't know that. I didn't know that they needed funding. But that then becomes a statement matter, doesn't it? Because then the state is not giving enough attention to the education system and not providing for them, which is why then they have to look to outside of EU and get people in who can actually pay and support them. So I don't see why. I mean, for me it is very counterproductive that they want these people and now they're going to look into their existing permits because now suddenly they don't want them.

Narcis:

Don't forget that universities are autonomous being, so they need to manage their own finances. If they can attract students, then that's fine. Those students bring with them a certain amount of money from the state. So the state gives them money based on how Many students they were able to enroll in that specific year, and that's a specific amount they can give to them. But the problem is some universities are just not popular enough to survive this competition. Like Roskilde, for example. Very few Danish students choose Roskilde University in first place. So that's just not enough students for them to keep all the lines open, all the staff hired. So, so it's also about management of the universities. Right. How do they manage their money? Do they manage it in a smart way so that they're able to do it? Some of the universities want to preserve maybe some very expensive teachers that have attained tenure, you know, and they cost a lot of money to have them at the university. Some of the universities want to keep lines open that maybe have only like 5, 6 students, which is very counterproductive. But, you know, they want to do it because they believe in the line. And maybe it was the musical line that gave us, I don't know, some famous musician of Denmark. But today it's just six students there. I mean, it's a big scandal in Oldborg as well. Now they want to close all humanities because it's just not worth it to have six students in a class.

Kalpita:

Yeah. There's also talk about shutting down English courses as well. But it's not that the Danish courses are getting so much attraction either.

Narcis:

But it's not about English courses only. It's about, in general, all humanities, at least in all part.

Kalpita:

Yeah, yeah, I, yeah, I, I see that. But the other universities are also cracking down on English courses, which they have done a couple of years ago as. Yeah, yeah, CBS cut short their English courses couple of years ago, and a couple of universities have done that previously as well. So I don't know, maybe, maybe. I think the universities and the education system in general need to just group and look into what they're actually doing right and wrong, and then take it, take it from there. Because just putting it on the shoulders of the Bangladeshi and Nepali students is a bit unfair because, I mean, what are they going to do? They don't, they don't get su. How are they going to support themselves and those. And it's not that every single one of them is out there in the job market, but you also need people in the job market to take up jobs that nobody else is taking, and these people are doing that. So it's really, it's, it's sort of a catch 22 from where I'm looking at it.

Narcis:

Yeah, but I mean, it's, it's, it's different because I understand that both sides have valid points. That's, that's what we need to consider because you understand why they are basically the universities like the other universities. The, the state is unhappy that the people who graduate from these universities have very little chance to ever find a proper job in their field because they were not at the level they were supposed to when they started university. And the university hasn't done much to level that up either. So then after they're done with the university, the university washes its hands and is the state problem now. So the state was like, well, that's not okay. You know, you cannot just push the problem onto us. So that's, that's unfair. Of course, now it's also unfair because this whole thing has stigmatized the whole communities. Right. Entire communities of Bangladesh in Nepali are being questioned. If I have to hire Bangladeshi or Nepali, will they be productive enough? Will they be qualified enough to do this? The way it was handled was stupid. Something was supposed to be done about it. And it was again the same situation that happened with international students 10, like some years ago when they closed down the lines at the colleges because they became factories, factories of students. And then they were just dumped into the welfare system afterwards by the universities who couldn't care less what's happening. And then they intervened and then they did it in a really bad way the way they did because they made people question in general international students like skills. And now the same happens. So I feel like we simply wait until too long to react to things.

Kalpita:

Yeah. And that's not very productive for the oncoming students. Right. Because I mean, what kind of reality are they walking into when their season starts? That's also a tricky situation to be in. But at the same time, there are very, very good courses, programs you can do in Denmark where people don't get jobs after like, I know food scientists and people with PhDs and trying to get into academics are still having a hard time because for whatever reason, even people from communication backgrounds that I meet are having a hard time getting a job. There are so many people who are newly graduated and are struggling to find a job. So I think that's something that's not specific to programs. But the job market and the education system needs to be. Find an alignment. Alignment as well. But hopefully.

Narcis:

Yeah, no, I agree with you in this way because I feel like the universities have to make a decision. They either follow the labor market and then they focus heavily on producing lines that actually ensure a job at the end of the education or they make a compromise and be honest to the state. Hey, state. Some people who come here, they come because of other reasons. You know, learning, finding themselves, whatever. They will not necessarily be good for the labor market afterwards, but they should also have a chance to educate themselves. I don't know, it's not an easy question. Should universities change character completely and be fully focused on what the labor market needs or be literally, really places of learning?

Kalpita:

No. I mean, I would hope that an education system was more future looking, you know, where you prepare students for the job market, which is something that's more lucrative than just preparing students to have some kind of education. Education is good and important, but education is also something that needs to land you a salary at the end of the day. You know, you start at 20, 22 in your education and by then you've gained enough experience of being in the job market and now you really want to start making at least 30, 35,000 to survive and, you know, make it somewhere in life. There's no point in having an education as, I don't know, a psychologist and not get a job or be a child psychologist and then land up just being a pedigo. Because what's the point of the higher education if you're not going to be able to get a job?

Narcis:

Yeah, but in the old times, the point of higher education was to further research, to further academic studies. That was the point. In the beginning of the universities, you were not going there because you wanted to get a job at the end of it.

Kalpita:

Yeah. I mean, even as a PhD.

Narcis:

The very nature of it.

Kalpita:

Yeah. I mean, but Even as a PhD, you want to make money, right? I mean, you have to eat food at the end of the year and get some shelter and heat. But then that's, that's, that's something. Narcissus, you can, you can help us. You are a candidate for the local and regional elections this year. And it is said that there are about.

Narcis:

For the local elections. Yeah.

Kalpita:

About 35% of these candidates are women. How good is that?

Narcis:

Well, it reflects the society we live in. Right. In a way, it's getting increasingly difficult to get people to run for elections in first place. Most of the parties have had difficulties finding candidates in general.

Kalpita:

Oh, is that so?

Narcis:

Because. Yeah, it has become extremely hard to motivate people to stand up for elections because. Well, one. First of all, we have become of more individualistic society here in Denmark. So people are caring more about their own needs first and not so much the community first. So that's, That's a general problem then. Second of all, fewer and fewer people are getting involved in anything at all, never mind politics. So the percentage of people getting involved has dropped a lot. But also even the few who would be ready to do it, they get scared because of the way the current people are being treated by the other people on social media, for example.

Kalpita:

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

Narcis:

There's a lot of hate against politicians and people don't want that. You know, they don't want to deal with that. That's too much stress. People are more sensitive these days.

Kalpita:

I mean it is traditionally Denmark is known for politicians to be available to be vocal and to be participating in community and all kinds of communal things, irrespective of, of what level in polit they are. And that's, that's what I find very endearing and very beautiful about the political system here is that, you know, they, all candidates and all people available in politics are accessible. You can have a conversation with them, you can have friendly debates with them, you can discuss things with them. But then if, if they're not feeling confident enough and secure enough to be out there and have those discussions. I know there was this restriction on social media posting and promotion as well, which to some ext, I totally agree and I like. But that also means that candidates need to go out and be out on the streets and catch people and have conversations with them and be available physically in the real world. What has your experience been with that?

Narcis:

It's just, I mean, people have become a lot more aggressive towards candidates, unfortunately. So no matter if it's social media or real life, there seems to be a general dissatisfaction. Even though it's a bit strange. It's a well managed country and the people who stand up for local elections and regional elections are just normal people. They're not politicians. They have their own jobs and they have to continue those jobs afterwards even if they get elected, because this is a part time thing. So they're literally getting paid very little for a lot of work that they do. So it's not unattractive from a money perspective in any way to be a candidate or to win the elections, considering how much responsibility you take on yourself. So you really, really need to. Oh God, I really have something I want to do, something I believe in and I'm willing to sacrifice my mental health and physical health for the next four years for it.

Kalpita:

I think that's where women come in and they play a very, very important role, especially in times like that because they are now taking the responsibility and shouldering the responsibility of making a better society. So go women. Well done.

Narcis:

Yeah, but that's why also women stay away because they feel like it's a bit too toxic the environment for them. So a lot of them just don't make step forward. So it's not safe enough yet to get equal.

Kalpita:

Okay.

Narcis:

Representation.

Kalpita:

Yeah, that's fair enough.

Narcis:

That's one of the problems because it's great for the ones who stood up and stayed in front, but a lot of them are. If you see the stories of the woman candidates, it's horrifying. Some of them that are saying, luckily enough those things don't really happen. To me personally, I had different experiences when I was first time candidate many years ago when I got even like these letters in the mailbox with like, you know, death threats and stuff from the beautiful right wing people in the country. Yeah, yeah. They were perceiving me as a big issue for the future of Denmark. So I mean, I had that. But I'm Eastern European. This shit doesn't affect me, you know. You know, we were built in a different way there. The traumas that you have during childhood just prepare you for anything, literally. So no wonder that most of. If you look now at the candidate list of the internationals, right? Most of them are Eastern Europeans. It's Romanians, Ukrainians a lot. I saw Russian, Polish.

Kalpita:

Yeah, yeah. Also some.

Narcis:

Yeah, that's. That's around the main.

Kalpita:

Yeah, I remember some we spoke with as well for the Vote Home Season 2 podcast where we are talking about how internationals can be a part of this election. Because I think we can make a big, big difference. Consider that this is an opportunity and for the first time we have more international candidates than we have ever had before. Which is very encouraging because most international candidates are interested in making things better for all internationals in Denmark. Right? From job opportunities to better integration and things like that, which I think is very, very important. And these issues are being brought up and spoken about as well.

Narcis:

Yeah, I agree. I mean, I don't know if definitely it's a progress. It's a tiny progress, but it's a progress. It's 0.2% of all the candidates are internationals. I wish we had at least one in every municipality, so at least 98 in total. But we're not there yet. Unfortunately not enough internationals are willing to stand up in front. And there can be many reasons for it, from lack of knowledge of what does it mean to general not understanding that politics mean a lot about how we shape life in, in Denmark, in the local life. In here because a lot of things are being decided on a local level. A lot of things that affect your day to day life. And we're not there. We're not there present when we discuss the budget, the tax money that we contribute with. And most of them stay at a local level. We're not there. So we shouldn't be surprised that, oh, they're not. They don't talk to us, they don't care about us. Well, if you don't vote, you're not interested. Imagine if the voting percentage among internationals was very high. Oh my God. I mean, all the parties will have English campaigns and look like there was no tomorrow for an international candidate to make sure more votes come towards their party. I can guarantee you this. So if internationals would show up and vote, it'll become attractive to the political party to invest in campaigning and talking to this group. If you don't go to vote, then there's no know. It's again, economics. It's money, you know, should you spend money to get 20% voting percentage?

Kalpita:

Why isn't there an international party in Odense, if I remember correctly, Party.

Narcis:

It's a list, you know, it's a local list. When you. When you're running for local elections, any candidates can put together themselves and create a list. So they say, okay, this is our list, building internationals. And all the votes given to all the candidates on this list are pulled together to get a seat. And then the most voted person on that list personally gets the seat.

Kalpita:

But that's interesting, isn't it? I think that's also a revolutionary step in not just getting internationals involved, but also really having some prominence in the politics of Odin. So to start with, and it's a great small step, I think.

Narcis:

I mean, in a way, to be honest, I highly encourage internationals to join Danish parties and run from Danish parties because it gives us more influence inside where politics are being done. It's a great gimmick and I respect them for doing it. And it's historical, of course, so it's awesome. But at the same time, I don't necessarily encourage other municipalities to follow the same example. I still believe that there is space in Danish parties for internationals. There is for sure. Because as I said multiple times in asking Denmark, multiple parties were looking like crazy for candidates. And they will have. They literally taken anyone, I swear to God, anyone who wanted to be a candidate this round has become a candidate.

Kalpita:

Wow.

Narcis:

So it's not so difficult to become a candidate in Denmark because simply there's little, little, little, very little. Interest in it anymore.

Kalpita:

Well, maybe that's something for next year. I mean, more and more women can join. Yeah. Yes. Sorry, not. I meant next time, not next year, but then, yeah, we have four years to prepare and educate ourselves and prepare a campaign. I mean, four years for a whole campaign is not a bad time to invest and educate yourself and get more and more involved. Especially if Denmark is going to be your long term plan, then why not?

Narcis:

Exactly. I mean, it's the easiest way to bring positive points towards internationals. It's the easiest way to raise the, the voting percentage of the people. So that's the way to move forward for sure. We need more internationals to get involved in Danish politics in general, because that's the only way we can safeguard our own interests in the Danish society and ensure that whenever troubled times come, we are not again the scapegoat of everything. But the only way for that to happen is for us to be present there because it's a lot harder to blame. Blame someone that sits at the table. It's a lot easier to blame the ones who are not there. So keep that in mind. You have. If you didn't catch this time, that's fine. There are 35 candidates at least that we found there might be a bit more that maybe we. They changed their name to a Danish name or something. So that's why we. They missed our attention.

Kalpita:

Yeah.

Narcis:

If you, if you read last week in Denmark, you'll be able to see the, the long list of candidates, give your support to one of them. You know, nothing can be more valuable right now than, you know, showing up for, for these people who had the courage to stand up in front. It's not an act of. Oh, look at them. They're just getting in front. No, no, no, no. Believe me, politics is not for money. If you want to make money, get out of politics because you want to be poor as f very poor and.

Kalpita:

Use a lot of your energy. But on that positive note, everybody I encourage and I am sure Narciss encourages, get out there, vote if you are eligible, check with your BOA service, your citizen service on your eligibility and go out there and vote. Voting has already started, so you can go to the libraries and cast a vote as well. Check week in Denmark website for all the interviews of international candidates that we have listed out there and give Vote Home podcast a listen. We have lots and lots of information over there that can help you understand the system, what a mayor does, what do councils do, and so on and so forth. And if you have any questions do not hesitate to drop a comment. Thank you very much Nasis for this time and we will see you again.

Narcis:

Thank you Kalpita. It was a pleasure to be back on the podcast and and see you soon again.

Kalpita:

Bye.

Narcis:

See ya everyone.

SPEAKER 4

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Head Shot

LWID

Host
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Kalpita Bhosale

Guest
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Narcis George Matache

Guest