Bente Dahl: Being Nordic is worth making sacrifices for Published: 04.10.2011
Working in the Nordic Council reinforced Bente Dahl’s belief in Nordic cooperation. Dahl, who has worked as chairperson of the Centre Group since 2007, is set to continue Nordic co-operation also outside the Parliament.
After spending six years in the Danish Parliament, Bente Dahl voluntarily stepped aside from parliamentary work. She did not run for another term in the election held in Denmark on September 15.
- Nordic cooperation is alive and well although there are many who have already tried to bury it. However, this does not mean that we should not constantly re-evaluate the existing institutions, says Bente Dahl. – During my term as chairperson, the Centre Group has strived to develop Nordic EU cooperation. Now the Nordic Council has formulated its first EU strategy, so we have been successful at least in this respect. It is a good starting point for future work.
Bente Dahl will not forget Nordic cooperation in the future either. For example, she is planning to continue working in Denmark’s Norden Association. Outside parliamentary work, Dahl, who used to be the vice-chairperson of the Culture and Education Committee of the Nordic Council, works as the headmaster of a music school. At present, she is also a board member of the Nordic Culture Fund.
- The next challenge will be to think of ways to transfer Gunnar Wetterberg’s lofty ideas of a Nordic federation into actual politics. We have five countries whose capital of trust is truly word-class. If each country were willing to compromise on even a few of their strictly-defined interests, we could make significant headway in Nordic EU cooperation, among other things. Being Nordic is a value in itself – something that is worth making sacrifices for, says Bente Dahl.
