This article was originally published in Danish on April 4, 2020.

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That’s what Trine Bramsen, Denmark’s Minister of Defense, says about human stupidity and God’s absence. She has probably never been anywhere near a slingshot in her life. Of course, these are not flowers from her own garden. Nothing grows there. She got this from the Danish security and intelligence service (PET), which got it from its Norwegian counterpart (PST), which stole it from SÄPO, the Swedish security police, which last week came up with the revolutionary observation that Russia poses a danger because the Russians claim that immigration in Sweden is a threat to the Swedish state – and, as we all know, there are no problems whatsoever with foreign immigration in Sweden. It’s probably all just something the Russians have made up…

But back to the topic at hand. Foreign powers will exploit the coronavirus crisis and harm Denmark:

“… foreign powers (read: Russia) and extremists (read: including the author of this article) will exploit the unfathomable crisis to spread harmful influence campaigns and gather intelligence on emergency preparedness and infrastructure in Denmark and other Western countries.”

Emergency preparedness and infrastructure in Denmark – and elsewhere – are already an open book for anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear. The fact that both are now being exposed in all their nakedness hardly makes any difference. The fact that extremists are exploiting the situation to sow discord and uncertainty may be because extremists are extremely right and allow themselves to criticize the government for its panicky reactions and the associated costs that are bombing us economically back to the Stone Age. Jørn Bro, former deputy head of the criminal organization PET, believes that we must keep an eye on the “trolls in St. Petersburg” and that Edward Snowden’s warning against interference in our fundamental freedoms is “a very good example of how to fertilize troubled soil. His job is to create insecurity and fear in Western societies.” In other words, one of the most important champions of freedom of expression is being labeled a Russian (?) agent. One has to admire the sharp analytical skills of current and former employees of that organization!

At the same time, they warn more realistically that China will exploit the economic collapse to buy up Western values for a song. Yes, that is why capital should not be allowed to move freely. This naturally adds fuel to the voices saying that China deliberately inflicted this nasty virus on us. Hmm. That sounds a bit like a conspiracy theory. The Chinese would probably have used a more potent virus for that purpose.

One wonders what the point of this is. Are they preparing to exploit the situation to stifle any opposition, now that they have already suspended the constitution by means of special laws? A ban on criticism of the government and parliament’s actions, for example – that could create unrest and uncertainty among the population. Yes, perhaps in the longer term, a crackdown on criticism of Islam and immigration, as this criticism threatens social peace? I believe the powers that be are capable of anything, and hopefully the national opposition will use every means at its disposal to get rid of the current system. Unfortunately, the means to achieve this goal are not yet available to it.

Povl H. Riis-Knudsen

Translated with the help of AI