Azernews.Az

By Bloomberg

The real-life Danish politicians battling it out to become the next head of government are poor reality show imitations of their TV counterparts.

That’s the message from Adam Price, the 48-year-old who created Denmark’s Emmy-nominated drama Borgen, in which Birgitte Nyborg is catapulted into government after ignoring the advice of her spin doctor and opting instead for plain, honest language.

“I want better politicians who dare to ditch the script,” Price said in a June 4 phone interview. “After all, we’re paying these guys to have views and defend their opinions to the death. And if they don’t, we’re supposed to sack them.”

Two weeks into electioneering, the key protagonists are heading for a cliffhanger vote on June 18, with polls showing no clear lead for either side.

Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who heads a Social Democrat-led coalition, has made a stunning comeback after trailing behind her opponent, Lars Loekke Rasmussen, for most of the past four years.

The candidates are trying to win over an electorate raised on welfare services including free health care and education as well as generous jobless benefits and other subsidies for the unemployed. Both lead a group of parties that will require them to find compromises on their policy pledges. Thorning-Schmidt says more welfare, no tax cuts. Her coalition partner wants tax cuts. Rasmussen wants tax cuts and a cap on welfare. His ally, the Danish People’s Party, says the welfare state must grow.

One-Upmanship

In an effort to disguise their similarities, the two main candidates are resorting to slogans that are often meaningless. The Social Democrats promise “More and Better Health Care.” Rasmussen’s Liberal Party says we need to “Make a Good Health Care System Even Better.”

Both have promised Danes they’ll be tough on immigrants and asylum seekers. Asked in a recent debate whether Denmark is a multicultural society, Thorning-Schmidt offered a resounding “No.” Rasmussen took it one step further, warning “there’s a danger we might become one.”

The top candidates have been “mimicking the same three or four messages so much that you can’t stand it anymore,” Price said. “It’s reached a point where you just want to escape, back to the days before spin doctors.”

Rehearsed Messages

But according to Alastair Campbell, former campaign manager for Tony Blair, the candidates still have everything to gain from stepping up their efforts to reach people with their messages.

“The last few days of a campaign, when it’s so close, can be incredibly important,” he said in a TV2 interview.

According to a poll of polls published on the website of newspaper Berlingske, the prime minister and her allies would get 49.6 percent of the vote, compared with 50.4 percent for the opposition.

Price says Denmark’s politicians have become too good at delivering rehearsed messages instead of engaging in a genuine debate.

“That’s disturbing,” he said.

“As a writer, you start to notice that the top politicians from each party repeat virtually the same sentences again and again,” Price said. “It’s like a reality show. It claims to be real, it looks real and we’re supposed to think it’s real, but when you know how reality shows are produced, you know how artificial it is.”