The ‘Danish Model’ Is Winning Government Fans Everywhere

Denmark is known for its happy citizens, cozy living and companies such as brewer Carlsberg AS and Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk A/S. But that’s not why establishment politicians from Germany, Austria and now the UK are turning up, eager to learn from the “Danish model.” What they want to know is how a center-left government has managed to win elections and beat the far right by getting tough on immigrants. And, more important: Could it work for them?

It is indeed rare to see left leaders like Mette Frederiksen in power in the European Union, let alone mixing what she calls “strict but not crazy” anti-migrant policies with pro-welfare spending. She didn’t invent this model, which began two decades ago with the country’s crackdown on migrant family reunification and ensuring new arrivals could pay their own way. But after an “aha” moment in the 2010s, seeing the working classes defect to the far right, she won them back with an even tougher turn.