Here’s a thought experiment: Would Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S), Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (M), and Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen (V) still write today what they wrote in December 2022—that their government would scrap a public holiday? They didn’t say Store Bededag (translated literally: Great Prayer Day) by name, just ‘a holiday,’ but that’s clearly what they meant.

Probably not. Beyond the coalition’s oddity, what’s haunted the SVM government most is axing Store Bededag. Nobody likes losing a day off, even with compensation, and voters felt misled after an election campaign where neither Store Bededag nor even ‘public holiday’ was uttered.