Jacob Haugaard Comedian Among Politicians
Daniel Jacob Haugaard is a Danish comedian who is also well known as a musician, actor and politician. His political activity began at the political group Sammenslutningen af Bevidst Arbejdssky Elementer (Union of Conscientiously Work-Shy Elements), founded in 1979. Group manifesto stated that everybody has the right to be lazy and argued that if work is healthy, why not give it to the sick. Another thing that made this group popular was the fact that everyone automatically became a member unless they stated otherwise.
Jacob Haugaard ran for parliament on elections as a joke from 1979 until 1994. In that year this fringe candidate actually won a place in parliament with amazing 23,253 votes.
Some of the party’s outrageous promises in the 1994 elections were:
- The right to impotency
- The addition of Nutella to army field rations (this one was actually implemented)
- Tail winds on all bicycle lines
- An increase in Renaissance furniture in Ikea
- shorter queues in supermarkets
- More bread for park ducks
- 8 hours of spare time, 8 hours of rest, 8 hours of sleep
- Less sex in school staff rooms (withdrawn during the campaign – he said it had been brought to his attention that sex in the staff room was a long-established privilege for teachers and as such could not be abolished)
- Better Christmas presents
After 4 years term, Jacob Haugaard decided not to run for re-election. In March 1998 he announced his retirement from politics because he was afraid to be in the parliament.
During his 4 years career he took his parliament duties seriously and often had the deciding vote in a hung parliament.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_Conscientiously_Work-Shy_Elements
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Haugaard
