Coronavirus DK: Critique of the state as savior

In an opinion piece in the daily Information, former Minister for Technology and Research Tommy Ahlers from the Liberal Party, warns against seeing the containment of the coronavirus as the triumph of the welfare state. Ahlers, who was appointed to the preceding center-right cabinet from the private sector, wants to offer a “conservative answer” (DK) to the prevailing narrative of the coronavirus crisis. In that scenario, a strong, centralized state was necessary to stop the spread of the infection and to support the economy. It fit perfectly with the social democratic worldview, and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen succeeded in portraying the dangers of the situation that required sweeping protections and precautions.

Ahlers acknowledges that such actions were necessary during the outbreak, but criticizes the treatment of the private sector during the reopening phase, which he describes as “absurd theater.” He argues that the precautionary principle was applied too indiscriminately and without adequate consideration of and consultation with the private sector. He gives the example of hotels’ being allowed to open everywhere but in Copenhagen - visitors could simply stay in the suburbs and visit the city during the day. The policy discouraged tourism more than it prevented the spread of the infection.

Who pays for the hospitals and healthcare anyway?
During the current economic recovery from the crisis, Ahlers does not want businesses to be perceived as recipients of support from the state that now must pay their share. They needed temporary support because they cooperated with the government’s lockdown. He repeats the right wing’s general contention that the welfare state depends on the tax revenues generated by the private sector and asserts the need for a balance between the public and private spheres. He argues that a strong market will be crucial in bringing the country back into sound economic growth. It is essential in creating jobs as well as the new technology that is necessary for achieving the government’s ambitions, for example the reduction of carbon emissions.

Smittestop poster: "Take it easy - your privacy is safe." Photo: Smittestop.

Surveillance for you and not for me
A fresh example of the state’s perhaps overstepping its emergency mandate appeared in another Information article. As noted earlier, the Smitttestop contact-tracing app has been downloaded many hundred thousand times, and researchers were satisfied that it played a useful role in limiting the spread of the coronavirus. Now it turns out that employees of the Danish Ministry for Foreign Affairs have been forbidden to use the app (DK) on their work phones and tablets because of concerns about data security. Minister of Health Magnus Heunicke has several times assured people that the app was secure and protected users’ privacy.

The problem is with bluetooth. For the app to function and notify users that someone with COVID-19 is in proximity, users must have the bluetooth turned on, and that is what the Foreign Ministry objects to. “Bluetooth is an open channel, and it is relatively easy to penetrate for someone who wants to follow what’s happening,” says Erik Brøgger Rasmussen of the Foreign Ministry. Jesper Lund, chair of the IT Political Association of Denmark, finds the double standard “a little hypocritical.” Heunicke is on vacation and the paper was not able to obtain a response from him.