Jacob Christensen

A couple of days ago, Politiken had a fascinating debate between its political op-ed writer Peter Mogensen and editor Stig Kirk Ørskov over the state of the Danish economy. Basically, Mogensen thinks the crisis is over and Ørskov that Danish manufacturing is toast. (As in: Don’t even bother applying for a job at Vestas. They will be moving out ASAP).

Somewhere I’ve also seen 2009 compared with 1932 which was one of the worst years ever in Danish economic history (even if unemployment rates weren’t as draconian as many believe). And if reporting in Fyens Stiftstidende is anything to go by, Funen with its dependence on manufacturing is in a particularly bad spot. Following the regional effects will be interesting.

Charlemagne of the Economist seems to have had his feet swept away from under him by the Wonder of the Swedish State. (Exhibit 1, Exhibit 2). The Punchline:

The place never fails to impress: Stockholm combines extraordinary efficiency and organisation with a healthily relaxed view of life, plus a strong tang of the sea. It is a bit like crossing Zürich with Sydney.

Swiss-Australians? Hmm…

I would like to point to one thing which Charlemagne (who would be known as Stora Kalle in Sweden) misses in my opinion. The thing is that much of Swedish policy looks like a top-down affair, but I wonder if Sweden would really work if there wasn’t also a significant bottom-up element to Swedish policy and politics, i.e. a strong mobilisation of public sentiment. This is what makes comparisons between the former German Democratic Republic and Sweden so interesting: The SED tried to create a sort of make-believe Sweden but failed utterly because they a) lacked any kind of legitimacy in the first place and b) relied on top-down planning.

The question about transferability of policies is interesting, but you may want to ask if policies implemented by, say, the British or the US government don’t also have similar limitations.

Update: It gets better – economics and transparent government.

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Apologies for the dearth of serious polsci posts, but it is hot up here. Even the polar bears…

Update: Replaced the twitpic with a Flickr upload. Looked better.

Did Al Gore invent the internet? No. Did he say so? In a very narrow interpretation: Yes. Was that what he meant? No.

Richard Wiggins (in 2000 …!) on Al Gore’s role in the development of the internet.

Comment: And then you wonder why politicians often sound as though they have had their statements edited 217 times and only appear in carefully staged contexts. Because they rightly fear the “gotcha” effect.

HT: Eszter Hargittai.

My eeePC running Ubuntu Linux, originally uploaded by jacobchristensen.

Well, almost, but I’ve managed to install Ubuntu Linux on my eeePC – I have a problem with the webcam but for all practical purposes the thing now works like a charm. The main reason for going Ubuntu was that I wanted to update to Firefox 3 (security) and OpenOffice 3 (compatibility with Microsofts OpenXML format).

The bonus: Connecting to wireless networks is now much easier (!), and I’ve even managed to get my “3″ mobile broadband modem to work with the eeePC. Nice

Henrik Oscarsson promises blogging with a vengeance during the week: Four posts on each parliamentary party covering polling performance, geographical variations in support, issue variations in support and the composition of each party’s electorate.

I’m drooling already and wondering if any of the Danish electoral researchers would take the challenge during the next electoral campaign?

Via Facebook I received an anguished call for help from my colleague Gissur Erlingsson who seems to have a troubled relationship with railways in general and the Gnesta – Norrköping line in particular.

This time he was stuck in Katrineholm. And we all know what that means.

Anyway, two of the greatest Danish poets have been stuck at railway stations at various times with the foreseeable consequences.

So, for Scandinavian-readers: Here are two of the high points in early 20th Century Danish poetry:

Sophus Claussen “Rejseminder” (Skanderborg Station)

Johannes V. Jensen “Paa Memphis Station”

I suspect that there are no sphinxes in Katrineholm either.

Last year in Umeå (June 6 at 1am)

This year in Odense (June 24 shortly after midnight)

As it is, my new phone does quite a nice job, but the camera is a bit slow. No real point-and-shoot.

A word of advice for people visiting or perhaps even entertaining plans of moving to Denmark: In case you stumble on something called “Service”, it is likely to be an organisation set up to be as obnoxious to ordinary citizens as possible. Danish authorities have learnt the value of newspeak. Or perhaps it ought to be newpublicmanagementspeak.

In any event, the aim of the “Parking Service” in Copenhagen isn’t to help drivers find a parking space or to keep parking spaces available. It is to bust you. A “Parking Service Assistant” who doesn’t ticket 7,5 (!) drivers every day will soon find him- or herself in deep trouble with the management. (Actually, the “Service” has been renamed into the completely opaque “Centre for Parking“…)

And yes, there is a contract between the unit running the “Parking Service” and the local council detailing this. New Public Management at its most entertaining.

What a wonderfully warped mind

HT: Peter Santesson-Wilson.