Since the mid-80’ies class struggles have strongly dimished in Denmark. VS see different reasons for this development. During the last 60-70 years the danish working class has gained quiete favorable positions through its class struggles, and through political initiatives. Despite more than 10 years of liberal-conservative govenrments and years of socialdemocratic governments implementing liberal politics, none of these governments have so far dared to attack working class positions right on. Attacks have instead been directed against groups in society with weaker a organization: unemployed, youth, and peoble on welfare benefits. I.e. the situation has been worsened for the reserve army, but not to any major extent for the general working class. At the same time the threat of unemployment has been used with great succes against the working class. The result has been, that class confrontations have dimished strongly in comparison with the 70’ies and the first half of the 80’ies. Unionization remains at a level among the highest in the world. Some 85-90% of the danish workforce are organized.
During the last 2-3 years, Denmark has experienced only 3 larger conflicts. In the first one, busses were privatized from a commune, causing a prolonged and very bitter conflict, in which police sided 100% with capitalism and daily sent its dogs against workers blocades. The conflict was followed by a couple of national strike-days involving some 50-100.000 workers. Nonetheless the conflict ended more or less in defeat, and the state is now prosecuting workers involved in the conflict.
The second conflict involved the confederation organizing workers within restaurants, bars, and hotels. They put up a strong blocade in order to organize workers within a district with many bars in Copenhagen. After a prolonged conflict with effective symphaty strikes, however also this conflict ended in more or lees defeat.
The last conflict involved workers on the garbageprocessing firm in Denmarks second largest town, Århus. Management had a consulting firm draw up a strategy in order to crush the very strong local union. This conflict ended in a 2 month strike during winter 95/96. A strike that ended in total defeat. Almost all of the workers were dismissed, and new workers hired.
The working class manages through local negotiations to gain pay rises, but are at the same time discouraged from escalating class conflict. Recent class struggle experiences as outlined above also has dimished to some extent solidarity.
Capitalism and its agents in the political parties starting with the socialdemocrats and going towards the right, are at the same time developing racism. The media - both written and electronic - are increasingly becoming racist, and the politicians develop a continously stronger racist discourse against refugees and emigrants. Refugees are presented as merely economic refugees and calls for cutting refugee quotas are continously heard, as Denmark contionues to lower its quota. Socialdemocrats and right wing parties alike are continously presenting initiatives to pressure emigrants into "integration" schemes with the objective of converting them into native danes, without regard to religion or culture in general. Capitalism and its superstructure wants to use refugees and emigrants as scape goat objects for the ever deeper social crisis among especially the reserve army.
The left participates in several initiatives to stop these developments, however the initiatives are week and without much involvement from emigrant organizations themselves.