PNN – In an article for The Guardian, Ron Lickberg, editor of the Danish newspaper Information, referred to the controversy surrounding Denmark’s national school elections after the decision to remove the issue of recognizing Palestine from the list of voting issues in 2026, describing it as a failure of the country’s alleged democracy.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, this English media outlet reported that Lickberg, referring to the Danes’ desire to be presented as a global model for democracy, mentioned holding national elections for Danish children aged 13 to 16 as one way to prove this claim.
However, the Danish journalist criticized the controversy surrounding the country’s national school elections in recent weeks after the decision to remove the Palestinian issue, writing: The decision was announced by the parliament’s leaders and justified by the two parties that have led Danish governments for the past 30 years, the Social Democrats and the Liberal Party.
He added: Opponents argued that this was too controversial a topic for classroom discussion, that it put young people from minority groups in very uncomfortable situations and that it risked giving students a bad experience of democracy.
The author made a significant point and wrote: This is despite the fact that these same parties typically support an understanding of democracy that places freedom of controversial debate and the exchange of offensive opinions above the protection of minority sensitivities and public order. Culturally, this is the Danish model of democracy; we are tolerant of verbal intolerance when it comes to political discourse on Islam and immigration; we are skeptical of individuals and movements that seek to protect the feelings of minorities and public order.
Part of this journalist’s article states: Yet when it comes to Israel and Palestine, the ruling parties promote an understanding of democracy that places personal sensitivities and public order above freedom of expression and the right to offend. The mechanisms driving the climate crisis, or any other controversial and challenging issue, seem more difficult for Denmark to address than recognizing a Palestinian state.
The Danish journalist added at the end: It is not the schoolchildren who cannot solve the Palestinian issue, it is the ruling parties who blame their failures on Danish students and want to escape from that and all the other questions about the Gaza war, Danish arms exports, the tension between Denmark’s alliance with the US and Israel, and our commitments to liberal institutions and Palestinian human rights.