{"text":[[{"start":8.15,"text":"Denmark’s new government will cut corporate and income taxes and is keeping on former prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen to lead negotiations with the US over Greenland."}],[{"start":18.4,"text":"Mette Frederiksen secured a third term as Danish prime minister this week by pulling together a four-party coalition of leftwing parties and Rasmussen’s centrist group."}],[{"start":29.25,"text":"The new government will cut Denmark’s corporate tax rate from 22 per cent — the joint highest in the Nordics — by 3 percentage points in the next three years, and eliminate income tax bands for the highest earners."}],[{"start":41.55,"text":"It is also planning to halve VAT on food and eliminate it for fruit and vegetables, and make visits to the dentist free for many. It will reinstate a public holiday that Frederiksen’s previous government controversially cut, supposedly to boost defence spending."}],[{"start":58.699999999999996,"text":"Rasmussen, Frederiksen’s predecessor as prime minister, will continue as foreign minister, a role he earned plaudits for in January when he was filmed smoking a cigarette with his Greenlandic counterpart after a meeting at the White House."}],[{"start":72.89999999999999,"text":"Denmark and its semi-autonomous territory of Greenland have been in the geopolitical spotlight ever since US President Donald Trump made it one of the focal points of his second term to take control of the Arctic island, potentially by force."}],[{"start":88.64999999999999,"text":"US, Danish and Greenlandic civil servants are at present in discussions about whether a compromise can be found. That could include the opening of further American military bases on the world’s largest island, in addition to the present one in the far north."}],[{"start":102.8,"text":"Some had speculated that Rasmussen could become finance minister instead, to cement his Moderate party’s role as the kingmaker in Danish politics."}],[{"start":111.95,"text":"The other parties in the government include Frederiksen’s Social Democrats — who provide finance minister Peter Hummelgaard — the Green Left and the Social Liberals."}],[{"start":120.9,"text":"“It is crucial that Denmark remains competitive,” Frederiksen said on Tuesday when announcing the government’s policies including the tax cuts. “At a time when other countries are putting up trade barriers, global competition is intensifying, and energy prices are high, there is a need to do more to support Danish businesses.”"}],[{"start":140,"text":"Frederiksen is a rare European leader to win a third term in office, but many in Copenhagen believe she could leave partway through to take up an international job. Her name was first connected with the post of Nato secretary-general under former US president Joe Biden, but the role instead went to Mark Rutte, the then Dutch prime minister."}],[{"start":160.45,"text":"“Only two other Danish PMs have won three consecutive elections and on the European level she is now a heavy-hitter. Only [Pedro] Sánchez, [Emmanuel] Macron and [Andrej] Plenković have served longer in the European Council,” said Lykke Friis, director of Think Tank Europa, referring to the Spanish, French and Croatian leaders."}],[{"start":184.7,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1780488696_9395.mp3"}