Denmark takes over the European Union, green turns blue

Saxony Line I-XV

Last time as we were tromping around the hallowed halls of this mental construct loosely based upon the Chemnitz, Dresden and Leipzig union we call Saxony we discussed pancakes, and the danger of eating them. This post was the most viewed of all my one hundred and eleventieth posts. Thanks for that! In it we discussed the Danish West Indies so we'd thought we'd have a look at them Danes today.

Denmark took over as the President of the European Union yesterday and it faces a great number of challenges in the year ahead. There is question over the survival of the Euro. There are Euro skeptics about making noise, especially in Britain and France with Marine Le Pen and National Front. There is tension between the 17 euro zone members and the 10 others who are part of the European Union but don't use the euro. In the midst of all this the Danes took center stage and set forth their green agenda. The timing was a bit awkward though because on the day that Denmark took over the European Union, ushering in a green agenda, Vestas, the world's largest producer of wind energy announced that they were cutting 2,335 jobs. That makes the green very blue.

To be fair, Vestas is just another victim of the European sovereign debt crisis and there is nothing wrong with the model per se. Companies simply are being crushed by their governments' debts. Note to America... However, it ought to be a good year for the Danes in charge of the European Union. They are a northern country that tends to be better with their money than those pesky southerners. Hopefully we will see a bit of Copenhagen in places like Athens, Oporto, Madrid, Rome and further south. If this were to happen what could we expect?

Could we see Athenians trading their gyros and moussaka for a hearty Smørrebrød? Somehow though I don't see too many Greeks giving up their buttery and flakey deliciousness for a hunk of dense rye bread topped with salmon and roe.

Could we see the Casa da Música host Chris Minh Doky and his jazz stylings to see the sluggish Portuguese economy revive? Why not? The Casa da Música is one of Portugal's premier venues and an icon of the city that has Northern European touches already (it was designed by a Dutch architect).

Could we see Danish design and architecture take hold in the streets, buildings and hearts of madrileños? Would a row or two of Arne Jacobsen's Swan Chairs be inappropriate at the Temple of Debod? Would some Danish Functionalism blend well with the baroque the façade of Basílica of San Miguel? We'll say that Swan Chairs are appropriate in any location, including relocated Ancient Egyptian ruins in Spain, but that the minimalism of Functionalism would cause serious harm to Madrid's historical vistas.

Could we see a Renaissance of Gabriel Axel in Lazio, rolling down the peaks of the Tolfa Mountains and pouring out into the Maremma Laziale before entering the gates of Rome to receive his long due triumph? His movie Babbete's Feast could play out and a simple act of kindness repaid could cause a mystical reawakening of glorious proportions. We are unfortunately though realizing that if the Gabriel Axel Renaissance takes place in the land of Silvio Berlusconi it shan't be Babbete's Feast that leads the way but Gabriel Axel's manifesto to legalize pornography Det kære legetøj. We can already see the bunga bunga headlines.

Or could we even see a return of the Vikings just in time to crush the Somali pirates who look to choke the life out of the trading industry in the Indian Ocean? The Somalis would never be a match for Ragnar Lodbrok and his longships. The once reviled scourge of Rouen and Paris could atone for his heathen conquest of France and extract more than 7000 pounds of silver from the Somalis. Unleash thy fury and thy sons Ragnar - especially Ivar the Boneless. That man is terrifying. York still quakes in fear.