The Danish rose

From his question, nobody would have bet that first meeting would have flowered into a warm friendship. Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, president of the Socialist group in the European Parliament, was trying to restore some form of order to an otherwise thorny meeting. His question was directed towards me: "What is your endgame?"

Curtly, I replied: "A vice-presidency".

The socialist heads of delegations, including myself, had been discussing the apportionment of the top offices of the EP committees. In typical Mediterranean fashion, I had unwittingly managed to destabilise what was usually a harmonious meeting. But I suppose "all's well that ends well" since the Danish and Maltese delegations teamed up to secure a shared vice-presidency.

And a warm friendship developed between me and Mr Rasmussen. It gave me the opportunity to observe and learn from a former Prime Minister of Denmark whose qualities include solidity, balance and exceptional acumen. Over the last few years, his political legacy in Denmark has been spreading slowly across Europe.

The current leader of Denmark's Social Democrats, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, elected leader at the age of 38, is developing a set of policies aiming at getting more people into work, making childcare more affordable and increasing investment in research and education across all levels. In doing this she is building on foundations laid by Prime Minister Rasmussen in the 1990s, when he led no fewer than four coalition governments.

His governments pioneered a social-economic system known as "flexicurity". It is a combination of flexibility and social security, which mixes strong Scandinavian-style social benefits with more flexible employment conditions.

The idea is to make it easier for employers to hire workers, to encourage economic growth while assuring peace of mind for workers. Should they lose their jobs, the social safety net, their educational preparation and a dynamic economy would make it easier for them to move into new jobs.

The plan was based on making receiving benefits conditional. People had to try to remain an active part of the job force. The plan was successful at reducing unemployment. It is now being proposed as a model for other European countries.

Elsewhere, flexicurity's record has been uneven. There is no doubt that its success depends on a combination of factors, which are to be found in Denmark but not necessarily elsewhere. These factors include culture. Not just the culture of work. The culture of governance, too.

What that suggests, for me, is that the modern and reform-minded spirit of social democracy needs its own traditions. Indeed, although it is in opposition, the Social Democrat Party was for many decades, from the elections of 1924 up till 1982, the natural party of government in Denmark.

During those years it contributed greatly to building institutions in healthcare, education and infrastructure. Institutions that have formed the culture of governance in the country.

For example, the high use of childcare centres in Denmark is among other reasons to be attributed to their long-standing existence.

The Scandinavian spirit of reform has long historical roots. However, far from meaning that such reform-mindedness should therefore be limited to a particular Danish, or Scandinavian, culture, it should reveal to us that every delay in setting up such institutions in Malta has a higher social cost than might appear at first. For each delay would mean that it will take longer for such institutions to take root.

Danish social democracy is committed to equality, to social solidarity and fraternity. At the same time there is a commitment to each person's liberty to develop his or her individuality. Social tolerance is not based on "anything goes" but rather on the principles based on openness, progress and responsibility.

These principles are held with a steadfastness and certainty that have nothing to do with the indecision notoriously associated with Shakespeare's Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, even if the ruins of his castle may still be seen today.

Neither is there "something rotten in the state of Denmark", as anyone who has visited the country will surely have appreciated.

It is unfortunate that Denmark's image has been tarnished in the eyes of the Islamic world. I distinctly remember how uncomfortable Mr Rasmussen felt following the publication of the notorious cartoons.

A commonly shared symbol of European social democrat parties is the red rose, which signifies socialism with a human face. It is impressive, however, that the Danish social democrats make an effort to point out that in the petals of their rose they see community, in its fragility they see care for the underprivileged, in its various forms a commitment to pluralism and in its beauty a love of cultural life.

Dr Attard Montalto is a Labour member of the European Parliament.