Journalist Compares Danish Parliament to American Congress

Author image for Eric Lund
Eric Lund
Feb 7, 2020 1:00 PM EST

Since American approval rating of Congress generally hovers somewhere between 18 and 30 percent, it's not inaccurate to say that in general, the American people have a pretty unfavorable view of how their own country decides things. Michael Grunwald described the process of Danish Parliament. It seems more efficient.

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  • 01
    Text - Michael Grunwald @MikeGrunwald I went to an obscure hearing today in the Danish Parliament. It blew my mind, not because of the substance, but because the US Congress has totally warped my view of hearings. And I'm just dorky enough to do a thread about it. 1 4:19 PM · 06 Feb 20 · Twitter for iPhone
    via MikeGrunwald
  • 02
    Text - Michael Grunwald Replying to @MikeGrunwald O @.. · 2h v First of all, there was a dais in the hearing room, just like any congressional hearing, except the politicians weren't on the dais. The six experts who were testifying were on the dais. Can you imagine? As if the hearing was about them and not the politicians? 2 ♡ 193 27 10
    via MikeGrunwald
  • 03
    Text - Michael Grunwald O @. · 2h The politicians were sitting in the front row of the audience. They all stayed in their seats for the entire hearing. And do you know what they did? They listened! I was in the second row and I didn't see any of them look at a phone or talk to an aide at any time. 3 17 9 179
    via MikeGrunwald
  • 04
    Text - Michael Grunwald O @. · 2h Actually, there was one politician on stage, the committee chair. She welcomed everyone, told the witnesses they would each have 10 minutes, then didn't say anything until one witness asked for an extra minute. She said no. I swooned. V4 142
    via MikeGrunwald
  • 05
    Text - Michael Grunwald O @.· 2h Oh, did I mention this obscure hearing was simultaneously translated into English? They gave me cool high-tech headphones. I think everyone else in the audience spoke Danish but they take this stuff seriously. 5 v 27 10 153
    via MikeGrunwald
  • 06
    Text - · 2h v Anyway, when the witnesses were done the politicians got their turn to speak. And none of them made speeches! They asked questions! Not leading questions designed to make a point. Thoughtful questions designed to get information! 6 Michael Grunwald O @. 27 11 188
    via MikeGrunwald
  • 07
    Text - Michael Grunwald O @. · 1h This part really got me: The pols had to ask all their questions first, which took maybe 5 minutes, and then all the witnesses got to answer all of them, which took 20 minutes. The experts did the talking and the pols did the hearing. Is that how these things got their name? 7 27 12 174
    via MikeGrunwald
  • 08
    Text - Michael Grunwald O @. · 1h I couldn't tell which pols were in which party or what biases any of them had about the topic being discussed. It really seemed like they were there to learn. And by the end it was clear they had. 8 ♡ 152
    via MikeGrunwald
  • 09
    Text - Michael Grunwald O @. · 1h v This thread is really about process, not substance, but I will say the topic was related to climate change, and everyone there took it seriously. One legislator told me only 4 or 5 of her 178 colleagues are deniers. 27 11 141
    via MikeGrunwald
  • 10
    Text - Michael Grunwald O @. · 1h v Anyway, the weirdest thing about this mostly banal experience was how weird it seemed. The lack of speechifying, grandstanding, partisanship or fake umbrage. How seriously they all took their responsibilities. The absence of bullshit. 10 ♡ 172 27 13 5 Michael Grunwald O @. · 1h v In conclusion, we suck. Sometimes it's good to be reminded how much we suck, and how it's possible to suck less. END 27 28 297
    via MikeGrunwald

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