Queen Margaret II of Denmark: "I can not wait to return to Argentina" – 25/02/2019

Copenhagen. Correspondent.

The door of "opensHavesalen", the private living room of Queen Margaret II of Denmark in the imposing Fredensborg Palace, 30 kilometers north of Copenhagen, and the first thing that emerges is" Tilia ", the 4-year-old sausage dog that accompanies it faithfully.

A pure bark, the animal belonging to her husband, the French Count Enrique de Laborde of Monpezat (deceased last year), attempts to intimidate by his presence the five Argentine journalists, including this envoy of the Clarin, in the summer residence of the Danish royal family.

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Throughout the 25 minutes of the report, "Tilia" will stay mostly on the couch, next to the monarch of 78 years, responsible for the crown since 1972, when he badumed the death of his father. Federico IX, while she caresses her warmly with her left hand.

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The protocol says that reporters should get up from their chairs, introduce themselves and then ask the question, about two meters from where Margarita II is located, "the unusual queen", as some call it in Denmark, the land of the Vikings.

"I'm looking forward to coming back to Argentina, after many years later, 53 exactly", speaks about what will be his second trip to the country, the first as a monarch, since the first was in 1966, when he was princess and accompanied his father." It is very interesting to see how another country has developed. It's been a long time, a lot of two generations since I was there, "he adds.

Those who organize the visit (from 18 to 20 March) are in all the details, including They are even interested in learning how to pronounce the last name Macri and even their name, Mauricio. Does the state visit include a meeting with the president, after which he will travel to Tandil, where is one of the most important colonies in the country (there are about 80 000 and 100 000 descendants on the national territory), in the zone of the "triangle" which also composes Necochea and Tres Arroyos, in the province of Buenos Aires, mainly in the agricultural zones.

"I remember very well when I was there, it was almost at the same time of the year, March 20 and March, it 's interesting, I will be able to compare , of course I was in Buenos Aires, I visited the three smaller towns where many Danes were settled in early twentieth century and later. It was a wonderful experience. I was in Tres Arroyos, Necochea and Tandil. Now, I'm only going to be in Tandil, "he confirms.

He will be the eldest son of his two sons, Federico, the heir to the crown (the youngest is Joaquín, 49 years old), who celebrated his fiftieth birthday last May and who is married to him. Australian lawyer Mary Donaldson. the one he met in a bar at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Despite the initial resistance of the queen, the love flourished and the marriage now has four children (Christian and Isabel, as well as twins Vicente and Josefina). Thirty business representatives who have invested in Argentina will also visit the delegation to promote bilateral trade and investment.

Margarita, compulsive and multilingual smoker (fluent in five languages), it is shown soberly, dominating, although there is a space for laughter. His advisers stressed the need to speak with a firm and strong voice. This time, she does not notice, as on another occasion, a journalist who breaks the protocol and who, in the middle of his nerves, dares to speak to him.

"Excuse me, but I do not think you and I went to school together or I do not think you belonged to my family, so I do not understand why you use this treatment," he said. , few years ago. This answer does not go well with the Danes. According to a survey of a local media, 67% considered that it was an impolite.

Denmark, with nearly 5.7 million inhabitants, has a constitutional monarchy more than a thousand years old. The maximum representative of the Crown can not carry out political acts independently. Although he signs all the laws of Parliament, these come into effect only when they have been approved by a minister.

"From Denmark, we want to have better relations and a little trade, we have a very commercial mentality," says Margarita, the first woman sovereign of the country, who She is eager to see "what Argentina looks like so many years later".

"I had used to travel with my husband before, so it's very nice to travel with my son now, it's wonderful that there are two pairs of feet and two pairs of eyes during a trip, it's really fantastic, especially for someone from another generation younger than mine, "he says.

According to the 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) published by Transparency International, a global organization that has been denouncing this practice for 25 years, Denmark is the country with the least corrupt public sector in the world. Here, public servants do not usually walk with the guards and many use bicycles or public transportation to get to work. On the first point, Margarita emphasizes: "In one way or another, we escaped from this slippery swamp of corruption"And he says that" the Danes believe that you have to trust your neighbor, the people you work with. There is a lot of confidence. "

Everything is part of the "Hygge" (pronounced "Hooga"), the recipe promoted of Danish happiness, consisting of enjoying the important things of life with loved ones.