Kay Xander Mellish studied for Denmark's citizenship exam and found the official pamphlet oddly vague about what actually matters. The test avoids economics, energy, and welfare state risks, focusing instead on symbols like the flag. Mellish argues new citizens should learn what Denmark really depends on, not just its cultural touchstones.
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Hello and welcome to the How to Live in Denmark podcast. I'm Kay Xander Mellish. There was no How to Live in Denmark podcast last week, and I apologize for that. I have been busy studying for my Danish citizenship exam. As some of you may know, Denmark is allowing double citizenship as of next year. That means you're allowed to keep your home country passport— in my case, the USA— while also becoming a Danish citizen. Now, personally, I'm a little concerned that this may be overturned if a right-wing government takes power next year. Dansk Folkeparti, which is now the biggest party in Denmark, is passionately against double citizenship. So, like supermarket prices, this offer may be for a limited time only. So I decided to get my Danish citizenship at the first opportunity, before the election. To become a Danish citizen, you have to take a Danish language test and a citizenship exam that tests your knowledge of Denmark and Danish culture. That's the test I'll take on Tuesday. It's only given twice a year, and it costs 700 crowns to take, so you might as well get it right the first time. I've been studying hard. Actually, I started out by studying the wrong thing. There were several quizzes online that tested your knowledge of Danish history, like Harald Bluetooth. Did you know that your Bluetooth headset was named after a 10th-century Danish king? I did not. Harald Bluetooth was the guy who brought Christianity to Denmark. Whether or not he actually had blue teeth, which suggests pretty bad dentistry, remains unknown. So I took the online practice quizzes and I learned a lot of other things. I learned about King Christian IV, who built the Round Tower in Copenhagen. And I learned about King Christian VII, who was crazy and ended up being portrayed in a movie that co-starred Mads Mikkelsen. I learned the legend of the Danish flag, which is that it fell from heaven around the year 1200 when the Danes were losing a battle in Estonia, and it led Denmark to an exciting come-from-behind victory. Then I found out none of this stuff was going to be on the test. Apparently the test has just been redesigned. Everything on the test will now come from a pamphlet from the Education Ministry with the catchy title, Democracy and Daily Life in Denmark. I'd like to see Mads Mikkelsen in that movie. Anyway, the book is 94 pages long in PDF form, and it's produced by Danish civil servants. It's basically one long advertisement for Danish civil servants. Faced with a bunch of foreigners who will soon be able to vote to get rid of them, they are eager to show off what they can do and why they are important. The book has sections on parental leave, housing support, unemployment compensation, old-age pensions, and child care. To misquote John F. Kennedy, the book is not about what you can do for Denmark, it's about what Denmark can do for you. There's no mention in the book of any kind of business or industry, and there's no mention of the Danish flag. Even though Denmark as a country is more than 1,000 years old, the only Danish history mentioned in it is the adoption of the Constitution in 1849. Apparently there were a lot of complaints about too many dates and names on the old test. People said it was too hard, that the questions weren't relevant to contemporary Denmark. So the test has been revised. Now if I was writing this test— and I may be writing it someday if I become a Danish citizen— I would do it differently. I would ask questions like, this little country with a lousy climate is one of the richest countries in the world. Why? What does Denmark produce? What does it sell? I would ask questions like, does Denmark have any enemies? And if it doesn't, why does it have an army? I would ask, where does Denmark's food and water come from? Or what about its energy? I mean, most of the wars fought over the past couple dozen years, from Ukraine to Iraq, have, have been fought over energy. Do you know actually Denmark is the only country in the EU that is entirely energy independent? I think new Danish citizens should know that. More questions. Denmark gives one of the world's highest percentages of its GNI to help developing nations, and it has for 50 years. What kind of results has it achieved? Are people in those countries really better off because the Danes have been trying to help them? Oh, and the civil servants will like this question: What are the big risks to the Danish welfare state going forward? These are the kind of questions I think people should be able to answer if they're going to be citizens and vote in Denmark. And I think Danes who were born here should be able to answer them too. And that's the How to Live in Denmark podcast for this week. I take the test on Tuesday, and I'll let you know how it turns out. In the meantime, the print version of the How to Live in Denmark book is available at howtoliveindenmark.com. It's great for holiday giving, and I'm willing to ship it anywhere in the world. You can also get the ebook there or on Amazon. You can follow us on Facebook at How to Live in Denmark or on Twitter at How2LiveInDK. The 2 is a number. See you next week! Bye!
