Jacob Christensen

According to media reports, Kristina Axén Olin who has been the mayor of Stockholm¹ since September 2006 today announced that she will retire from politics.

Axén Olin’s term in office has been troubled by problems with stress-related illness and substance abuse – not, as far as I can tell, in a way which has affected her public appearances, but enough to cause her problems personally and professionally. The resignation still came unexpectedly to observers.

For the Conservatives, one problem will be to find a suitable successor who will also be able to connect with voters in Stockholm as well as Axén Olin did. The city council of Stockholm is a big prize, also in national Swedish politics. (For a comment in Swedish, see Henrik Brors in DN)

Earlier post here.

1. Or to be more precise: Finansborgerråd and Chairman of the Board of the City Council [↩]

Ah, yes: Today is the birthday of Queen Margrethe who was born on 16 April 1940, just a week after the German occupation of Denmark. She only became Heir Apparent (or Crown Princess) in 1953 after a constitutional reform opened for female succession to the Danish throne¹ and it is a safe bet that this change in the Succession Act opened the way for a successful reform of the Danish constitution in 1953 after an earlier attempt had failed in 1939 when a draft constitution narrowly missed the threshold of 45% of all voters needed to pass a constitutional amendment or a new constitution.²

According to the constitution the Monarch and the Heir Apparent reach full maturity at the age of 18 – not so unusual these days but remember that this rule dates back to the 1849 constitution – which means that the Queen today also celebrates her 50th anniversary as a member of the State Council which is the organ that formally adopts new legislation.

Of cause, Margrethe, first as Crown Princess and later as Quenn, has never played an active political role but over the years she has met with the government on a near-weekly basis. When she was introduced to the Council, H.C. Hansen was prime minister and since his death in office in 1960 he has been followed by Viggo Kampmann, Jens Otto Krag (twice), Hilmar Baunsgaard, Anker Jørgensen (also twice), Poul Hartling, Poul Schlüter, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

With the exception of Christian IX who lived to the age of 87, the Glücksborg monarchs haven’t enjoyed unusually long lifespans – Frederik VIII died at the age of 68, Christian X was 76 and Frederik IX some months short of his 73th birthday – but if Margrethe has inherited some of her mother’s health, we should at least expect to see her around for another 15 years and add a couple of prime ministers to the list.

The Danish media? Oh, they were more interested in the fact that Prince Joakim’s fiancée appeared on the balcony with the rest of the royal family for the first time.

A formal correction: My perceptive regular reader noted that as a Danish princess, Margrethe’s formal style was Tronfølgeren Prinsesse (Heir to the Throne, Princess) Margrethe. She was never officially known as Kronprinsesse (Crown Princess) Margrethe.³ The present heir to the Danish throne is formally known as Kronprins (Crown Prince) Frederik.

1. The 1953 Succession Act only opened for limited female succession. A new Act, subject to a referendum, will open for full female succession to the Danish throne [↩]
2. In the 1953 constitution the threshold was lowered to 40% of all voters [↩]
3. Ferry buffs will note that two DFDS’ ferries put into service 1957 and 1968, respectively were named Prinsesse Margrethe [↩]

• Tony Judt: What Have We Learned, If Anything? – The New York Review of Books
  Far from escaping the twentieth century, we need, I think, to go back and look a bit more carefully. We need to learn again—or perhaps for the first time—how war brutalizes and degrades winners and losers alike and what happens to us when, having heed
  (tags: culture foreignpolicy globalization history politics society war)

I added a LinkedIn account to my 258 (or so it seems) existing accounts. Not sure what, if anything, I’ll be using that one for.

Suggestions welcome.