Denmark: Red-Green Alliance’s work on Copenhagen City Council & More News Here

Last November, the unconventional left Red-Green Alliance (RGA) shook up Danish politics, coming first within the elections for Copenhagen City Council. Line Barfod, a former RGA MP, headed its ticket and is now accountable for the council’s work within the fields of city renewal and growth, local weather, housing and visitors. She spoke with Green Left’s Dick Nichols.

***

What was the affect of the Red-Green Alliance victory within the Copenhagen City Council elections? My impression is that it prompted a giant shock among the many powers-that-be.

Of course it did! Especially among the many Social Democrats, the personal firms and the media. Now some media are saying that we don’t use our newfound energy to do something — we’re simply sitting in a nook doing nothing. Others are saying we’re going to flip town right into a pink hell…

Why didn’t the RGA win the lord mayor’s place after coming first within the election, with 15 seats on the 55-seat council?

You want a majority to get the place of lord mayor, and the Social Democrats, who got here in second with 10 seats, determined to associate with the suitable wing. The Socialist People’s Party, which can also be a left-wing celebration, had been with us, as was The Alternative, making a complete of 23 seats.

But the centre celebration (which in Denmark is known as the Radical Left!) determined to go along with the Social Democrats and the suitable wing, so we couldn’t get the 28-seat majority wanted to win the lord mayor’s place. We gained the second-most necessary place — the one I’ve — which is mayor of the Technical and Environmental Committee.

Our different mayor heads up the Social Affairs Committee, in order that is excellent for us, as a result of we have now a inexperienced portfolio and a pink one.

The huge concern, as I perceive it, within the elections was housing…

The principal points had been housing, local weather and setting.

And what constrains the RGA from implementing its election platform on these points?

We have to have a majority for any proposal we put ahead, so we have now to barter with the opposite events to get a majority. For some components of our politics, we’ll succeed and for different components, I don’t assume we’ll succeed on this 4-year time period, regardless that, after all, we’re working arduous at it.

What are the primary obstacles?

People from different events on the council are doing what they’ve all the time completed, and the identical goes for the council workers. So, it’s important to open the door to pondering and doing issues in a brand new means. Especially in relation to local weather and the necessity to do one thing drastic and quick.

Plenty of the rise in your vote got here from younger folks on the problem of local weather. What do you say to these within the local weather motion who’re demanding speedy motion?

First, we had a proposal that was accepted by the council that we must always observe the International Energy Agency’s 10-point plan to cut back oil dependence and lower the usage of Russian pure fuel. So we’re taking a look at their solutions to lower velocity limits and at many different methods of reducing vitality use.

Also, we have now simply handed by means of council the proposal that, whereas the Danish authorities continues to be finalising the design of its CO2 tax, we’ll work within the council as if this had already been adopted: so that each one council purchases will likely be completed as if that tax had been already in place.

The council does greater than eight billion kronor [$A1.61 billion] in buying annually, in order that we are able to use that strategically. As the council shifts its buying to the merchandise least intensive in greenhouse fuel emissions, the change may have a big effect on the market.

About 15 years in the past, Copenhagen determined that each one meals served by the municipality in colleges, kindergartens, canteens, nursing properties and many others, needs to be ecological. Those farmers who had been nonetheless undecided as as to if to shift to ecological farming noticed that they may promote ecological merchandise to the City of Copenhagen, and so much shifted throughout.

We are additionally in discussions with firms on the way to design and produce reusable and recyclable merchandise, like textiles, merchandise for which the council might present safe preliminary demand, and which might then develop into obtainable in broader markets. The council seems to behave as a spur for transition to ecologically sustainable manufacturing, which in any other case wouldn’t happen. This is essential.

We are additionally going to calculate the carbon dioxide emission affect of the council price range and the assorted choices for inclusion in it. We are working on how to do that in the mean time.

For instance, we have now to decide this Spring about an outdated freeway in Copenhagen, about which we’ve been having a dialogue for a number of years. Some say we have now to exchange it with a tunnel, others say that we are able to scale back it by half, as a result of its lanes run parallel over two bridges. Under the bridges there’s a small river which is presently in a tunnel, and if we eliminated that we might even have a ravishing park alongside the river.

We have simply had a gathering the place we appeared on the completely different options and the way a lot they’d value, however we’ve additionally requested what carbon dioxide emissions every choice would produce. The tunnel resolution would contain 140,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions; the answer of tearing down one bridge and making a park would produce 1500 tonnes.

So, no dialogue. When you have got these analyses then it’s a lot simpler to make the choice.

We can see that these examples of excellent greenhouse fuel discount practices can develop into generalised into the areas and into the smaller cities, however after all making use of any adjustments wanted to fulfill native situations.

Housing places you into battle with the underlying tendencies in actual property — privatisation of housing and funding funds shopping for up housing, empty and occupied.

In Copenhagen about 20% of housing is public housing — we would like greater than that — after which we have now 20% personal possession, then there may be 20% which is collective, shared possession. Until about 20 years in the past it was slightly low-cost to get into this type of possession, however then we had a right-wing authorities that eliminated the bounds that utilized to the costs of this class of housing, so now it too is slightly costly. The relaxation is capital funds, personal firms, proudly owning huge estates for personal rental.

Many on the left look to final September’s Berlin referendum that may, if acted on by the regional authorities, expropriate the actual property firms proudly owning over 3000 housing items and return them to public possession. Is that relevant to Copenhagen?

It’s not. Because we have now had this battle for a few years for public housing. Also, as a result of 30 years in the past the lord mayor, from the Social Democrats, made an settlement with a mayor from the Liberal Party that there needs to be no extra public housing, they usually bought the 20,000 low-cost flats that the municipality owned at the moment.

They additionally mentioned that individuals residing in small flats must be part of them to different flats so they’d develop into greater and costlier. All this as a result of they needed those that had been poor to maneuver out of town and change them with individuals who might pay extra taxes, and so on.

And then, about 15 years in the past, the Social Democrats discovered that individuals who used to vote for them had been having issue discovering housing that they may afford, so that they began to relook at constructing public housing once more. When we had a brand new nationwide Social Democratic authorities in 2011, the legislation was modified to permit municipalities to insist that as much as 25% of recent building needs to be public housing.

Have personal builders complied?

To some extent, however the personal builders usually “forget” to usher in the general public housing firms to be a part of their plans. Now we have now a brand new legislation about to undergo the parliament which is able to allow municipalities to refuse a license for personal developments to function if the 25% for public housing hasn’t been complied with. The public housing half doesn’t simply need to be on the plan however really constructed.

And the opposite a part of the Enhedslisten proposal is to extend the general public housing inventory to 25% or extra. Is there any resistance to that?

From the events of the suitable, after all. The Social Democrats say we might construct extra however level to the difficulties. One is that the municipality owns little or no in Copenhagen lately. What the municipality as soon as nonetheless owned was bought to a publicly owned firm, City and Port Development Corporation, in order that they’d develop Copenhagen. The revenue from its gross sales was used to pay for the Copenhagen Metro.

This Corporation was arrange beneath a requirement that it ought to attempt to get the very best value attainable. So, in the event that they promote a constructing website for public housing, they’ll get much less cash than if it had been earmarked for personal housing. That’s the issue.

How do you plan to sort out that?

We ought to separate out the 2 issues. We ought to discover funding for the Metro in the identical means as we discover funding for different infrastructure growth in Denmark. As to the way to develop town, together with housing, it needs to be determined by the residents within the municipality primarily based on what sort of metropolis we would like, and never that of getting the very best attainable revenue for its actual property property.

If you have got a everlasting hunt for allies to create majorities, it interprets right into a stress to dilute components of this system on which Enhedslisten got here first within the election. Does this place you in a troublesome place with these you helped you win, who may say: “Look, they won the election — why hasn’t anything happened?”

Of course! There are issues we are able to’t do from day one, and there are battles that we are able to’t win.  And folks will likely be disillusioned typically. But what we’re doing is explaining that we are able to’t do all the things without delay, however that we’re combating on a regular basis for our election program.

For instance, we’re combating to vary visitors in Copenhagen in order that there will likely be only a few vehicles, with much more area for folks to make use of as their very own rather than vehicles. We can solely get majority help on council for small steps: it will likely be this road, then this road, then this road, however not the entire metropolis without delay.

And that is in a context of accelerating automotive use in Denmark…

Yes, as a result of it’s getting cheaper and cheaper. It’s loopy, however the authorities has for a number of years made it cheaper and cheaper to have a automotive whereas collective transport has develop into costlier. 

How do you plan to neutralise opposition to your proposals to drastically scale back automotive use?

Well, 70% of those that stay in Copenhagen don’t have a automotive.  Most of the vehicles operating by means of Copenhagen belong to folks coming into town from exterior to work. Yes, those that have a automotive in Copenhagen would have an issue, however lots of them don’t use their automotive greater than as soon as each second or third week, once they’re going exterior Copenhagen to go to their summer season homes or their household.

So, what we suggest can be an issue inside Copenhagen for individuals who want to make use of their automotive day-after-day, and a few of them have mentioned that they aren’t going to vote for the Red-Green Alliance any longer as a result of “you are going to take our parking space away”.

At the identical time, nevertheless, we have now handed a regulation, with the help of the Socialist People’s Party and the Social Democrats, which provides folks residing in a road the suitable to determine whether or not it will likely be utterly car-free, or solely admit electrical vehicles, or no matter.

Then they’ll get some funding to hold out the conversion, on situation of council help, after session with the police about how the change may have an effect on the visitors state of affairs. If all agree, it would have been the folks residing there who’ve determined the way forward for the road.

Does everybody need to agree?

A majority. In Copenhagen we have now numerous inexperienced courtyards — communal gardens — that was parking areas. There are only a few of those left as a result of most have been became inexperienced areas. That additionally happened by majority vote of these concerned.

So, the resistance to that is going to come back from the vested actual property pursuits, working on the Social Democrats?

And from these voters who are usually not very eager on adjustments. Some of them nonetheless don’t perceive how necessary it’s to make the adjustments given the local weather disaster. The downside will not be a lot huge enterprise as a result of the primary agency working in actual property is City and Port, and people to whom it sells property need to abide by the laws on inexperienced area and the 25% public housing quota.

And the notorious Lynetteholm Island growth?

Well, that [artificial island development] was additionally very huge within the election marketing campaign. More and extra folks have been protesting, together with the mayors of the municipalities round Copenhagen, from all events, together with those that in authorities mentioned sure to this island.

Sweden has been protesting very a lot, and I believe there will even come some protests from different nations across the Baltic Sea, as a result of the island dangers stopping the influx of a number of the salt into the Baltic Sea, so the Baltic Sea may die. It’s an outrageous challenge.

But we have now simply had a brand new minister of transport and he or she has appeared into this and into the a part of constructing the island that includes excavation and dumping of numerous sand in one other place. They have been doing this for some months, frightening extra protests, this time from the locals.

The minister has determined that the challenge needs to be suspended for a 12 months and reanalysed, revisited. So that’s a giant victory we have now there.

How then does Copenhagen City Council collaborate with different councils … on condition that the issues you confront, particularly the local weather emergency, transcend the area managed by the council?

We are increase collaboration with the municipalities round us, each in Denmark but additionally in Sweden, as a result of we’re so intently linked and we have now this frequent sea (The Sound), and we’re negotiating proper now to make this a marine nationwide park.

Copenhagen can also be a part of the C40 group of world cities with their very own local weather emergency targets and measures. It can also be a part of worldwide organisations for selling bicycles and bike lanes, and subsequent 12 months Copenhagen would be the World Capital of Architecture, a brand new initiative of UNESCO.

We are working on this system proper now. And since we have now each the Technical and Environmental Committee and the Social Affairs Committee, we need to have a theme that’s not simply environmental sustainability but additionally social sustainability, each in a blended metropolis with inexpensive housing, but additionally with the concept the homeless and others needs to be a part of town.

What we’re working on now will not be “dark urban design”, however “bright urban design”, the place you make squares and so on the place everybody, those that sit and drink numerous beer, the homeless and folks and kids enjoying, all have a spot and really feel at dwelling.

You have seven mayors, six are girls. Is this a feminist council?

Well, you may say that. We haven’t made a political level about being a feminist council, however a few of us are, after all, feminists, due to the nonetheless unequal state of affairs of girls. Also, once you take a look at Denmark as an entire, it’s nonetheless principally males who run town councils, the parliament and the federal government. So, it’s a really particular state of affairs in Copenhagen, and a very good instance, if we are able to use our energy beneficially.

So, regardless that a number of the girls mayors are proper wing, you’ve received some factors on which you’ll be able to take joint positions?

Oh sure. We have numerous factors. Sometimes, for instance, the Conservatives will likely be extra inexperienced than the Social Democrats. For instance, the Conservative People’s Party supported a CO2 tax, whereas the Social Democrats had been very reluctant.

What different areas of council work are necessary to the RGA?

The query of work and business in Copenhagen is necessary — we don’t need jobs right here simply to be workplace jobs. It’s crucial that we nonetheless have industries, that we nonetheless have expert employees. We additionally need to have numerous small corporations, and are working from the municipality to advertise them, particularly if they’re cooperatives or democratically run.

Also, we don’t have sufficient municipal help for tradition in Denmark, and we need to begin to change that. In specific, tradition that’s accessible or the place you don’t need to have had dad and mom who instructed you about Shakespeare and the classics. The council ought to assist promote widespread tradition.

[Abridged. Read the full interview at links.org.au. Dick Nichols is the European correspondent for Green Left and Links Journal of Socialist Renewal. He attended the recent Red Green Alliance conference as a representative of the Socialist Alliance.]

I’ve tried to offer all types of stories to all of you latest news today 2022 by means of this web site and you’ll like all this information very a lot as a result of all of the information we all the time give on this information is all the time there. It is on trending matter and regardless of the newest information was

it was all the time our effort to achieve you that you simply hold getting the most recent information and also you all the time hold getting the knowledge of stories by means of us without cost and in addition inform you folks. Give that no matter data associated to different sorts of information will likely be

made obtainable to all of you so that you’re all the time linked with the information, keep forward within the matter and hold getting today news all sorts of information without cost until at this time with the intention to get the information by getting it. Always take two steps ahead