Frederiksen: One must be ready to die for Denmark

 

TT 

Published 12.55

 

Denmark’s Chief of Defence Michael Hyldgaard and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (Social Democrats) during the national flag day for deployed Danish soldiers in Copenhagen on September 5. Photo: Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix/TT

All Danes should be ready to die for their fatherland, asserts Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

If Denmark were to be attacked, would Danes be prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice?

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was asked this question on the DR program "Krigens dygn" (Days of War).

"Do I think one should be willing to die for one's country? Yes, of course," she replied.

"Apart from my loved ones, there is nothing I love more than my homeland."

However, far from all Danes share Frederiksen’s willingness to fight, Danish media report. In a TV2 poll conducted in September, only 34 percent of Danes said they were ready to go to war if Denmark were invaded by a foreign power. Reluctance was particularly high among 18- to 39-year-olds, with nearly 60 percent saying no to fighting for their homeland.