Image: Reuters.
At least 50,000 people protested the proposal by the government to scrap a Christian holiday in Denmark to finance increased military spending.
The demonstration, organized by labor unions, was the largest in over a decade and was called to oppose the government's plan to abolish the Great Prayer Day, a Christian holiday dating to 1686 and observed on the fourth Friday after Easter.
The newly elected Danish government first proposed last December, saying that the aim was to raise tax revenues for higher military spending in the wake of the Russia – Ukraine war.
As part of the new government’s reform of the country’s welfare policies, it suggested extending the deadline for achieving NATO's defense spending target of two percent of GDP forward by three years, to 2030.
The government claims that the resources it expects to make from raising taxes and abolishing the vacation might fund the majority of the additional 4.5 billion Danish crowns ($654 million) required to attain the defense spending target.
However, workers, labor unions, opposition lawmakers, and economists in the country doubt that the proposal would be effective.
Image: Reuters.
Some economists argue that the measure is unlikely to have long-lasting effects, as workers would find alternative ways to change their working hours.
One of the protesters, Stig De Blanck, a 63-year-old plumber told VOA news:
“Normally these things are discussed with the working people, and now this model is about to be overruled. We are protesting to hopefully make them listen.”
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