Today’s big topic: Candidate tests spark significant debate, but they have never been more important
FV26: Election posters for the 2026 parliamentary election. Here on H. C. Andersens Boulevard.
What’s happening?
Candidate tests are becoming increasingly prominent in election campaigns, and researchers predict that they could be a factor when the election is decided on March 24. While traditional media and TV channels like Politiken and DR used to create tests in collaboration with election researchers, the range has significantly expanded to include tests created by organizations with political interests.
According to the Danish Election Study of the 2022 parliamentary election, 62 percent of respondents used a candidate test. And nearly half of those who took a test followed its recommendation.
»Today, it’s probably without comparison, the tool that moves the most voters«, says Kasper Møller Hansen, election researcher and professor at the University of Copenhagen, who helps conduct the election study.
Mathias Wessel Tromborg, associate professor and election researcher at Aarhus University, estimates that one in ten Danes who take a candidate test end up changing their vote based on the recommendation they receive in the test.
This means that candidate tests helped move more than 100,000 voters in the last parliamentary election.
Why it matters!
The use of candidate tests has sky-rocketed in the past ten years.
Where it was previously mainly young voters who used candidate tests, they now appeal to many voter groups, according to Kasper Møller Hansen.
»It has become a natural part of all our elections – including municipal elections – to take a candidate test. There’s almost a consensus that it’s just what you do«, he says.
And that popularity requires the tests to have even higher quality and neutrality, says Mathias Wessel Tromborg, who helps create Jyllands-Posten’s candidate test.
»We are at the very core of democracy. One of the things we aim for is to present a broad palette of questions that should ideally be easy to understand. And this is particularly important when it’s the less politically interested who follow the recommendations«.
Still curious? Read the full article here.
In other news
–There are several issues with Liberal Alliance’s plan for cheap and stable electricity for the Danes
Liberal Alliance promises voters »cheap electricity« from nuclear power. But the calculations behind the plan show something entirely different. It won’t be cheap. On the contrary, it will be significantly more expensive than the green alternatives the party criticizes. Based on the price of that plant and an assumption of how much the technology will decrease in price, Ea Energianalyse and VTT estimate that the subsidy cap for 1.5 gigawatts of nuclear power will be 115 billion kroner in 2040. This is roughly double the subsidy cap of 55 billion kroner that the government has allocated in the massive offshore wind tender in the North Sea for 3 gigawatts.
Read the full article here.
–Despite limited research documentation, Socialdemokratiet maintains that fewer students per adult lead to better schooling
While research from the National Research Center for Welfare, Vive, indicates that there is not a significant impact of classes with 13 to 17 students compared to larger classes, Socialdemokratiet stand firm on their proposal for fewer students per classroom in the smaller grades. In the upper grades, there are major challenges with sky-high absenteeism, lack of motivation, and an increasing number of students finishing 9th grade without passing Danish and mathematics. If the proposal is to become a reality, the cost is approximately 5 billion kroner annually, of which 700 million kroner will be allocated to grades 4 through 9 for more hours with two teachers and additional field trips..
– Seven-month-old child found in hotel room
A 37-year-old man has been charged with abducting a seven-month-old child in Haderslev. This was announced by the duty officer of South and Southern Jutland Police at a press conference on Monday evening. The child was taken from a stroller on Monday evening and was later found in a hotel room in Haderslev. It is expected that the 37-year-old man will appear in a preliminary hearing on Tuesday.
Check out Copenhagen’s new bakery
The bakery feels like quite a fine gift to the city, writes the reviewer.
What kind of place is it?
At the top of Vesterbrogade – just before Valby Bakke – Aryan Kaarina Jafri has now opened the bakery Kani, which had already garnered attention before its opening, especially on TikTok, where over 54,000 followers keep up with the life of an independent bakery owner in Copenhagen.
At Kani, you can feel her desire to play with flavors, not just in the sweet treats but also in the savory baked goods that provide a counterpoint to the classic Danish pastries.
What shouldn’t you miss?
You might feel a bit overwhelmed by the options at Kani. But it’s the good kind. The bread here is made with sourdough, and everything is homemade.
Their cheese bun changes with the season; on this day, it was with labneh, za’atar, olive oil, and plum jam (55 kr.). Salt, acidity, and sweetness. More of that, everywhere, please.
What about drinks?
There’s something for both the classic coffee drinker and those who want to be surprised. The cappuccino made with beans from April (47 kr.) is round and balanced.
The Kani Special, a cardamom iced latte (59 kr.), sounds almost too good to be true but turns out to be quite brilliant.
The matcha latte (75 kr.) also goes straight into my matcha guide to Copenhagen. You can add their homemade syrups to drinks for 5 kr. and create your own very specific coffee order, a bit like Miranda Priestley in ’The Devil Wears Prada’.
Read the full review here.
This newsletter features stories originally published in Danish. AI was used to shorten and translate the articles into English, after which a member of the editorial staff reviewed and refined the content.