Danes on the rocks

It is a given amongst the Eurosceptic community in Britain that of all the EU member states, the most likely to reject the EU constitution – apart from Great Britain itself - is Denmark.

Yet, according to a Gallup poll published today in the Berlingske Tidende, this perception might be a little bit rocky. Nearly half (49 percent) the Danes polled said they would vote in favour of the constitution. Only 26 percent claimed they would vote "no" and only 25 percent were undecided.

The poll surveyed 994 people between 3 and 7 November 3-7, just after five political parties representing a large majority in parliament agreed jointly to recommend to their countrymen to vote in favour of the EU constitution.

It seems the story being presented to the Danes is that a "no" vote means withdrawal, leaving political scientist Hans Joergen Nielsen of Copenhagen University to remark: "Danes want to follow the EU, and nobody really wants to pull out of it". Furthermore, there seems to be some support for the euro, as 56 percent of those polled supported the idea of an additional referendum question on whether to abolish the euro opt-out.

With the referendum slated for 2006, it seems that Danish Eurosceptics will have their work cut out ensuring that the constitution is blocked.