01x03 - Episode 3

[bunniefuu]

I'm on the rugged edge of Europe.

Visiting five Nordic countries.

It's incredible, it's incredible.

Travelling through glorious
forests...

..and spectacular fjords.

I think Norway has a solid claim

to be the most beautiful
country in the world.

I mean, look at it!

Wow, dogs pulling a car!

It's more than half a million square
miles of extremes.

This is low, this is low!

This is my life.

Somebody's holding on to me, yeah?

Now breathe, breathe.

Off we go.

I'm hoping to understand

how they've built some of the
happiest societies on the planet.

Hey, guys! Morning.

Good morning!

And who have we got here?

What...?

LAUGHTER

This is the most traditional Danish
lunch I have seen. Yes.

And why they now feel

they're in the firing line.

SantaPark is also a nuclear
bunker? Yes, very much so.

They are preparing to defend
Finland.

g*nf*re

Bloody hell.

You're wearing these
in urban Sweden? Yes.

There's another side to
Scandinavia.

Ready to fire!

ECHOING BLAST

On this final
leg of my Scandinavian journey,

I'm travelling from southern
Sweden into Denmark.

Two thirds of Sweden is covered
in trees, nearly 90 billion of them,

and a population of just
over ten million people.

Swedes love a cabin
in the woods.

Not bad, eh?

I think, more than anywhere,
Sweden really defines Scandinavia.

Tradition, modern design,
gender equality,

ABBA, and flat-pack furniture.

Half of Swedes have access to
a holiday home like a simple

cabin by a lake or
deep in the forest.

Nothing fancy.

Just somewhere wholesome
to get away.

Where they can eat their meatballs,
light some candles,

and get nude in a sauna.

So Swedish.

What do you mean I'm going
for cliches?

MUSIC: SOS
by ABBA

# So when you're near me

# Darling, can't you hear me?

# SOS. #

For a generation, Swedes have done
incredibly well.

# The love you gave me

# Nothing else can save me

# SOS. #

They've excelled in rankings
of the healthiest, wealthiest,

happiest people on Earth.

In many ways, since the 1960s,
Sweden has been the

poster child for Scandi success.

And those famous
Scandinavian liberal values.

But of course, that's not
the whole story.

All right, here we are.

# How can I carry on? #

Ready to fire!

Those lovely liberal Swedes
are also one of the world's

leading arms exporters.

COMMANDS IN SWEDISH

ECHOING BLAST

Bloody hell.

ALARMS BLARE

There are car alarms
going off down there.

That is much more than a shock.

It's through your whole body,
and in the entire area.

It's, it's slightly seismic.

Swedish arms company Bofors has
a 40-square-mile weapons

testing facility,
one of the largest in Europe.

The neutral Swedes avoided -
some would say dodged -

fighting in both World Wars.

But they now make and export more
weapons per head of population

than any country other than Russia
and Israel.

Five, four, three, two, one.

Fire!

BLAST

They're conducting hundreds
and hundreds of tests here every

year now, as the Swedish military
and Scandinavia enters a new era.

Many Scandinavians used to think
they live in a safe neighbourhood.

But after Russia invaded
Ukraine in 2022, everything changed.

Many now think it poses a direct
threat to Scandinavia as well.

Sweden abandoned neutrality,
joined the NATO military alliance,

and ramped up weapons
production even more.

For Colonel Stefan Krol, business at
the Bofors test centre is booming.

The defence industry all over Europe
goes full speed ahead now.

They're building new factories,
building new production lines,

going 24/7.

And it's all due to the
w*r in Europe, ongoing.

There's almost been a handbrake turn

and funding has increased
dramatically.

Yes, in a way, it's dramatic and
it's a, it's a change of mindset.

The threat levels have risen
and it's a huge demand of ammunition

right now that hasn't been there
since the Second World w*r.

Wartime production mode?

Is that what we're seeing?

In some way, yes.

The Swedes were neutral for decades
and decades.

And as a result,

they didn't feel like they could
rely on anyone for their defence.

They built up their own
defence industry.

There is really no other country
of comparable size, of comparable

population that can produce its own
fighter jets and submarines.

They can do that in Sweden.

The Swedes make some of the

most advanced weapons systems
in the world.

In one naval exercise, a stealthy
Swedish submarine even sank

a US aircraft carrier.

This is gorgeous.

There's much about this region
we don't always recognise.

As I saw in Finland,
there's a steeliness.

They're also practical,
competent and innovative.

I headed to Stockholm,
the capital, to find

out more about what makes them tick.

So, I'm travelling
into the centre of Stockholm.

And I'm getting a lift.

Hello, Maria.

Welcome.
Is it OK to come on? Yes. Thank you.

It's not just a handshake, but...

Yeah. Oh...! Perfect.
OK. Thank you!

This isn't just a fast boat.

It's a boat that flies.

This beauty's the Candela
electric hydrofoil.

I'm sure you'll see
it in a Bond film at some point.

It is so smooth as to be
quite unnerving.

You don't really realise the speed
that you're doing

until you look around.

This battery-powered boat leaves
virtually no wake

and uses a fraction of the energy
of other speedboats.

They're also hoping to use
the technology for local ferries.

A speedboat like this can be yours
for just a few 100,000...

Splashdown.

We've just landed -
right in the middle of Stockholm.

This is the way to arrive.

I might insist on this
in the future.

Thank you so much, Maria.

Thank you.
Thank you very much indeed.

What an amazing way to arrive.

Wah!

Central Stockholm.

Thank you, Maria.

Stockholm's often
described as the most beautiful

city in Scandinavia - admittedly
mainly by Swedes.

Like much of Scandinavia,
it's well-kept, charming,

with functioning public transport.

Bit boring?

Locals certainly seem very content.

Sweden and its neighbours always top
the international

league tables for happiness.

So how on earth do they do it?

I wanted someone to explain,

so I headed to meet a man described
as looking like a hipster Jesus.

Hey, Simon, right?

Micael Dahlen

is a professor at the renowned
Stockholm School of Economics

So, big question -

what is,
it's been called the Nordic model.

Yeah. The Scandinavian
way of running an economy.

How would you explain that?

Well, I think
I'd use two words - welfare economy.

We want everybody to have equal
opportunity.

We have free health care,
free education,

free virtually everything.

But we also want everybody to
contribute.

We're all in it together.

This is key.

You get a lot as a Swede,
and welfare benefits are generous.

But, people are also expected to
play their part.

Please mind the brakes.

Please mind the brakes, OK.

The public are expected to work

and pay their taxes - to be
productive members of society.

Not stay on benefits.

Off we go.

Micael's a professor of Economics
and Wellbeing, Welfare

and Happiness.

He's ranked number two in the world
in his field.

And he wanted to show me
how Swedes are all in it together...

Tell me about your tattoos,
by the way.

You've got some pretty
distinctive markings.

Yeah, those are all notes to self.

If I get 70%, it's not perfect.

It's never the best.
But it's,

it's good enough.
Do something to 70%?

You never give 100%
cos then you will burn out.

You'll have performance anxiety that
everything needs to be perfect.

What is the eight signifying?

So, the eight is the number of
seconds I need to give myself

before I react to something.

I did the maths
and eight is enough.

You did the maths?
I always do the maths.

I can't help myself.
You're an economics professor!

Exactly.
Of course you did the maths.

Well, the traffic lights have
changed. Oh, wonderful.

There you go -

Micael says give it 70%.

Economics is a hot topic
here in Scandinavia,

partly because tax rates
are among the highest in the world.

You're doing beautifully.

Yeah, I've got a foot down a lot.

But their disposable income -
after they've paid taxes -

is actually really high because
so much here is free - universities,

health care, some elderly care,
and especially childcare.

By all accounts, this is a pretty
good place to raise a child.

What's going on here?

I'd say this is a dads' group.

Enjoying their coffee. Latte papas.

Latte papas.
Hey, guys.

Good morning.
Good morning.

It's a toddlers' group.

And you all look very calm.

How much paternity leave do
you get in Sweden?




Yeah.

And is that total parental leave or
that's paternity leave for dads?

Total for both.
Total for both. Yeah.

And who pays the paternity leave?

Well, the government. Taxes.
Or taxes! Yeah. We all do.

I'm coming in, if that's OK.

I'll move slowly.

I feel this is not just
accepted - it's enjoyed.

It's part of life.

Would you agree? Do you know this?

I've been home for six months,
but I can't see it affect me

negatively in any in any way.

It's natural.

But it's also tactical by society,
isn't it?

Because it's ensuring that women not
just continue to provide

economically for the family,
but also for the state as well.

It would be super wasteful to
take all the moms

that are super smart -
we don't want to put them

off the market - they contribute
so much to our economy and welfare.

And of course, this being
Sweden, I think

women take up a greater percentage
of degrees than men, as well.

So they're the better-educated
section of the workforce.

Exactly.
So, if you do the maths

and I love doing the maths, for
every month that a dad takes

paternal leave, the average increase
in salary for the mother increases.

So, it's, it's pure mathematics
and economics.

It's good for everyone.

Almost as one, the dads have said,

"It's nap time.

"We've got to go."

They've got a schedule
and they know what it is.

It's easy to start thinking
everything's perfect here.

Of course it isn't.

Sweden has problems familiar in
other Western countries -

an ageing population,
faltering economic growth,

and beneath the surface, this
country has some more-dramatic,

troubling fault lines.

I travelled south to the
city of Malmo.

Just check, is this it?

John? I suppose it's the BBC...

I'm Simon. Welcome, Simon.

Nice to see you.

John Wallender runs
an elite police unit.

Bloody hell, John

This is our armed vehicle

and basically we use it
in high-risk tasks.

This is the first police edition
of this vehicle in the world.

Some military units use it as well.

That is quite the beast.
Absolutely.

The Swedish police are arming-up

to confront an extraordinary
crimewave.

What's been happening here is
completely staggering.

There have been
hundreds of shootings.

Hand grenades have been
thrown into buildings.

It's been described as
low-intensity conflict.

The Prime Minister here has said
Sweden has never known

anything like this.

Roughly ten years ago,
violent crime began to rise.

Dramatically.

Deadly shootings among drug gangs,
largely run by people

from immigrant backgrounds,
have since more than tripled.

The g*n m*rder rate in Stockholm is
now roughly 30 times that of London.

Sweden has the highest g*n-crime
death rate in Europe,

after Montenegro
and Albania.

And it's not just g*ns.

Here's a bit of a clue to what
this squad does.

John is the head of one of Sweden's
three b*mb squads.

Welcome.

Oh, my God.

We have gathered a whole
lot of things during our missions.

This is what we're dealing with.

You've got grenades here.

The hand grenades are being
used in the criminal conflicts.

It's absolutely lethal. It's an
astonishing situation. Yeah.

And most of the hand grenades being
thrown are being thrown by very

young boys and girls.

What sort of age is very young?

We're talking high school age.



Seriously?
Yeah.

Being used by the older criminals,
giving them

assignments to, "OK, throw this
grenade on this site."

That is quite staggering.

It's totally non-acceptable.

Kids throwing hand grenades?

Yeah.

Somewhere around 2018,
we experienced a rapidly

increasing numbers of home-made
bombs, hand grenades and so on.

Those were mostly home-made bombs,
IEDs.

IEDs, improvised expl*sive devices.

Yeah. This is a phrase we only
normally hear about w*r zones.

Yeah, I know.

But this is what you're
encountering.

Yeah, absolutely.

This is one of the typical
Thermos bombs.

It's a Thermos flask?

Yeah, just a common Thermos flask.

The criminals have stuffed them
with dynamite.

And then you have a very potent IED.

Gangs are using this in Sweden?

Yeah.
Around 100 a year.

In criminal context.

A year?!
Yeah, a year.

Being used in urban areas where
people are living.

Two a week?
Yeah.

That's astonishing.

g*ng warfare has exploded here -
fuelled by the rise in cocaine

use in Sweden and across Europe.

Gangs have taken
advantage of liberal policies that

children shouldn't be arrested,
and actively recruited them.

Police say there's now around 1,200
child foot soldiers, bombers,

and even contract K*llers in their
early teens, working for the gangs.

So, they're giving me

a little bit of a sense
of what it is to be in the squad.

The situation is out of control.

b*mb units can get four call outs
a day.

Now, let's go for the jacket.

Oh, my God.

There's more?

Front panel as well.
OK.

There you go.

FAN WHIRS

A fan has just started up?

Yes.
It has built-in fans?

It has built-in fans,
a cooling system.

So the hands are clear?

The hands are the most unprotected.

If anything explodes,
you'll live,

but you might lose your hands.

You need the feeling in your hands.

That's why we don't use gloves.

Your guys are wearing these
into situations in urban Sweden.

Yes.

INDISTINCT

Overall, many crime rates here
are around the European average...

How on earth do you guys do this?

..but
exploitation of children in crime

and gangland bombings, are among
the worst in the developed world.

Not long after I visited, Sweden
recorded 30 bombings in one month!

I mean, it feels like a situation
Sweden has still not got

full control of.

No, I think ten years ago, no-one of
us could foresee that coming.

But today, it's our reality.

How on earth has Sweden got
to this?

SIREN WAILS

The land of ABBA is now top of all
Western countries for IED bombings.

The rise in violence follows
an increase in immigration.

Most of the perpetrators,
as well as the victims,

come from immigrant communities.

It's caused many Swedes to question
long-cherished liberal ideals.

Back in Stockholm, I arranged to
meet someone who's witnessed

the violence first-hand.

There she is.

Hello! Hi, Faysa!

Do you want to come round?


who's written about her

life growing up in Sweden
in a tricky neighbourhood.

Nice to meet you, too.
Simon Reeve, hello.

Hello.

So, we're in the centre
of Stockholm.

Does this feel like your Stockholm,
your city?

No, it doesn't.

It doesn't feel like home.

So how do you feel
when you come here?

As a tourist.

Really? An outsider?

Yes.
That's not good.

No, it's not.

That's why I write about it in,
like,

it's two different
countries in one country.

Like, this Sweden, and our Sweden.

Faysa was born and raised here.

Her family were refugees
from Somalia 31 years ago.

In recent decades, Swedes welcomed
refugees from world conflicts.

More than 100,000 from the wars
in the Balkans, and hundreds

of thousands from Syria, Iraq,
Afghanistan, many young men.

Asylum immigration into Sweden has
been roughly four times

the rate in other
Western European countries.

Housing's been provided -
but often far from city centres,

in estates where up to 90% of

residents are now from immigrant
backgrounds.

So this is Rinkeby... Yes. ..and
Tensta?

Yes.

Two areas of suburban Stockholm.

Locals long complained these estates
are cut-off, hemmed-in by motorways.

They have high unemployment

and they've been
engulfed in g*ng warfare.

Let's go, Simon.

I grew up in this area.

I used to go to school.
Right.

That's over there.

And especially this place.

We always come here to smoke
cigarettes.

What would you say are the main
problems that your generation

faced growing up here?

Poverty.

And our way to becoming a rich
person is through crimes.

For us, that way was the only way.

So I think most of us
don't want to do these crimes,

but we want to have the money.
Yeah.

Most of them, if you ask them,
why are you k*lling?

They will tell you it's for the
money they, cos...

It's only for the money, to...

And when you say k*lling,
you really mean that?

Yeah, I really mean it.

It's a part of life.

It's actually a daily routine.

Like, I know murderers
and I know the victims.

This is the important place.

Yes.

SHE LAUGHS

It's like she's been waiting
for you.

Hey!

Faysa took me
to meet her friend Lotta.

I come here and I have a lot
of stress and Lotta here,

she's like a therapist, you know?

So I speak to her about things.

And so it's not just a salon,
you know?

Total...

You release your feelings as well.

..heart of the community.
Yes.

It's quite difficult to comprehend
what's been happening

here in Stockholm, but in Sweden...

..over the last ten, just under ten
years, really, isn't it,

there's been a huge increase
in the number of children who have

been joining gangs, who've been
sucked into g*ng life?

Can you give us
a sense of what's happened?

When I was 15 years old, I lost
my best friend at this g*ng w*r

that has been happening for ten
years, for a decade.

And when Sweden didn't see
it as a problem.

I see it as a crisis, you
know, I see it as a very big crisis.

Like, they were so young.

Two people died.
That is absolutely a crisis.

That's terrible situation.

These two people that died,
the young people that died,

were two black people
from the suburbs.

So, Sweden, as a country, didn't
recognise... No.

..there was a crisis?
Maybe it was -

"Yeah, but this is not really
a Swedish issue."

Right.

"So, it will not come to our
places."

"To our homes. We're safe."

"So that's why we can wait on it."

And that has been like - it feels
like a betrayal for us because...

We've been living
like this for years.

Because you are Sweden. Yeah.

You are born in Sweden, right?
Yes.

I'm born in Sweden.
I lost all my friends.

Like, I lost all my neighbours,
you know?

But for them, it's like just
the statistics of numbers.

It has affected everybody.
Mm.

Everybody is affected.

You know why?
Because it's not a racial thing.

It's a human problem.

Yeah, but the first,

but the first thing is
they need to see us as humans.

Yeah.

Start with that.

Start with that. Give me a hug.

Mwah. Mwah.

Thank you.
Yeah, thank you, too.

Not everyone who feels excluded
or ignored joins a g*ng.

Most migrants here live blameless
lives, contributing to the

country that took them in.

There's debate here about why crime
has exploded, but there's no

disputing huge numbers of migrant
children have been

caught up in the drug wars - Faysa's
lost friends and close family.

Is this an area you would come to
when you were younger?

Yes.

But I haven't been here

since 2018,

because my brother was
found dead here.

Do you feel able to tell us
what happened?

When I saw him
that day laying in some white.

What is it called when you bury...?

In a body bag?

Yes, in a body bag.

In a body bag.

So I haven't been here since this.

Erm...

You haven't been back?

No, I haven't.

We're so many of us.

Like, I don't understand why
he was the one.

Now he has four kids asking
where there dad is,

and they cannot understand how
their father, that is a taxi driver

studying to become a doctor...

You know, like I have done some
things in my life...

Like, I wish they could take me,
like, they didn't need to take him.

I'm so sorry, Faysa.

SHE MOUTHS

Faysa's brother was one of many
victims of drug violence.

Another of her brothers,
a g*ng leader, is in prison.

Swedish police say there are more
than 60,000 active or

connected g*ng members.

Many argue poverty's the main driver
of crime in violence hot spots.

And the unemployment rate here
for people born abroad is certainly

shocking - four times higher
than for people born in Sweden,

the worst gap in the developed
world.

But politicians from the right,

and even many liberal Swedes,

now place blame for the crimewave
squarely on

mass immigration from what they've

called "culturally distant
countries".

Faysa wanted me
to meet her mother, Nasteho,

who was given asylum in Sweden
more than 30 years ago.

Thank you so much, Mum.

Can you remember a point, Mum,

a time when you realised things
were starting to go sour?

So do you remember going to the
authorities in some way?

It's so hard being a mum in this
environment, cos you feel so much,

and it's so draining.

I am born in Sweden.

I've never been to
Somalia in my life.

She's putting the blame on us,

like, "You guys should know
better, like,

"you're not in your own country."

Hundreds of thousands of migrants,
asylum seekers,

and refugees have come to Sweden
and to Scandinavia.

And I think there's been
something of a sense here

and across the region that almost

just by being here people would
become Scandinavian

and would enjoy the benefits of life
as a Scandinavian.

But that is clearly not the case.

Now, we can debate whether there's
been a failure to integrate,

but there has definitely been
a failure of integration.

And the consequences are now
being felt.

I left Sweden and headed south,
across the Baltic Sea...

I'm just coming up to the bridge
now, which takes me from Sweden

into Denmark, the last country
on my journey around Scandinavia.

For full transparency, I should tell
you my wife is half Danish,

and I've been to Denmark many
times to see the family there.

It's a country that I feel
I know pretty well

and one that I really love.

The Oresund road and rail crossing
is something of an engineering

marvel - it's still the longest

cable-stayed, combined road
and rail bridge - in the world,

for any bridge-spotters watching.

Built on time
and to budget.

And it's crucial -
because it helps link Sweden and the

Scandinavian Peninsula to Denmark,
and the rest of Western Europe.

Denmark's the smallest
country in Scandinavia -

but punches above its weight.

Danish companies control 15% of the
world's shipping containers -

they're huge exporters
of industrially-farmed bacon;

and the Danish firm that makes
the weight-loss drug Ozempic is

now one of the biggest
pharmaceutical

companies on Earth.

The Danes
are a straightforward bunch.

Practical.
Unshockable.

Oh, my goodness, look at that.

Pretty raunchy!

That's the thing about the Scandis.

They can have this super neat,
perfectly formed little community,

and a couple
copulating in the main square!

They'd be like,
"Stop making a fuss, Simon.

"It's just a lovely statue showing
the beautiful act of love."

I've reached the west coast of
Denmark, next to the sea.

And the wind blows strong here.

A lot of wind turbines.

Denmark is a global
leader in wind energy.

It generates
around 60% of their electricity,

and they export
the technology around the world.

Many of Britain's offshore
wind farms are built

and operated by Danish companies.

Let's go and take a closer look.

The company that built this huge
wind turbine allowed me to go up it

while it was stopped for
maintenance.

This at the moment,

holds the title for being the most
powerful wind turbine in the world.

And that means it's also one
the biggest and tallest.

From the ground to the top
tip of a blade,

this wind turbine is
almost as tall as the Eiffel Tower.

Oh, my good Lord.

Not ideal for those with vertigo!

Oh, my!

Oh, my good...
I really can't.

Oh, I must...!

Oh, my...!

This is utterly epic.

To give you
a sense of how big this turbine is,

look at these ones over here.

These turbines,
they are not baby turbines,

those are normal wind turbines
and we're looking down on them.

This single wind turbine
powers around 20,000 homes.



There was, apparently,

not a single planning objection
from locals to this massive turbine.

Yes, of course I'm pleased to
be on the ground!

Contrast that with the UK, where we
can't erect a shed without

complaints escalating to
the Supreme Court.

Because here locals were involved -
Danes pioneered community

groups that OWN many turbines
and wind farms.

Danish universities, governments,

and firms have worked together to
develop wind tech.

People trust scientists
and politicians,

so there's fewer objections
and delays.

Right, we're here.

And right now,

the Danes are at the cutting edge,
taking wind power up a notch more.

Knock, knock.

I went to see a Danish inventor -

one of the original wind
turbine designers.

His name's Henrik Stiesdal.

Henrik? Hi, there. Yes.

We're meeting
you in your secret lab?

Yes.

You need to close your eyes
when we speak here.

Oh, do you?
You've got the glasses on.

You need the glasses.
I need glasses as well?

Yes. OK, I'll get them on.

Yes.
Is that because things go boom here?

HE CHUCKLES

That's the price of being,
having fun in the lab.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

And we need to...

We're with somebody really
special here.

Just recently, he jointly won
an award that is often

described as being the equivalent
of a Nobel Prize for engineering.

Henrik is obsessed with
clean energy.

In his lab he's searching for one
of the holy grails - how to use

electricity from wind to make
hydrogen - a clean fuel with

enough oomph to power planes,
ships and lorries.

But he's also still inventing wind
turbines - new, and bigger.

So, this is just one section
for a mast.

For a small wind turbine.

A small one?
A small one.

Henrik jokes his only real
qualification is as a

ski instructor -
he didn't finish university.

But in the 1970s, Henrik designed

one of the first modern
wind turbines.

His inventions have since led
to about a thousand patents.

He was in charge of setting up
the world's very first offshore

wind farm.

These are for offshore turbines

and they are much bigger than
onshore turbines.

These are some of the largest
sections that are built here.

Out at sea, the wind blows stronger
and more consistently.

With current technology, offshore
wind farms need to

be in shallow water.

That limits where we can put them,
and how much power we can generate.

It's a problem Henrik's
trying to solve.

In very large parts of the world,
you can't do offshore wind

because the water gets to
be too deep.

Too deep means more than 60m.

We want to become really global,
we need to have structures that

can float so that you can go to
much deeper waters.

And that's what we are
working on here in this company.

Floating wind turbines?
Yes.

We can produce ten times the power
needs of the world with

a floating offshore wind.

Even if we had no solar,

no land-based wind, no nuclear,
no nothing.

The resource is just huge.

Henrik, ten times?

Ten times?
Yes.

So, these are parts that make up
a floating offshore

wind tower foundation.

What we have here is this
centre column.

This is the floating structure...
Yes.

..on which a wind turbine would sit?
Yes.

I don't think we'll put them
all on, but here goes one,

for instance, that will fit there.

So, this - you've just swiftly
created using your LEGO, as it

were, appropriately.

So, what of that, is this?

So the upper part here
from that little line there,

the LEGO brick is this one here.

But look at the size of this.

This piece here in this
structure is just this?!

Yes. Henrik, you think big?

But our problem is big.

It needs a scale.

How confident are you this
will work?

Oh, we are very confident.

It would be the biggest
factory-made pieces of equipment

in the world, I think.

There must be lots of competition
to create this.

Yeah, but in actual fact, the goal
of our company is not money-making.

The goal of our company is impact
on the fight against climate change.

We hope that can be
an inspiration for the world,

so to speak.

Wind power has limitations,
and critics, but around the world

it's already revolutionised the way
we generate electricity.

The Danes have profited
by innovating, and working together.

They're leading the way.

I need to get a ferry.

I'm heading towards the end
of my journey through Scandinavia

and I'm struck by the feeling,
more than ever,

how much of our news, our media,
and our culture

focuses, in the UK, on what's
going on in the United States.

We have much more in common,
in so many ways,

with this part of the world,
than the USA.

I don't think we know enough
about the Scandis and Scandinavia,

but things are going on here
that really matter.

My last stop was the Danish
capital - Copenhagen.

Even by the standards
of Scandinavia, Denmark stands out.

Danes top global surveys of
happiness and life satisfaction.

They pay high taxes but get generous
welfare, free health care,

subsidised childcare,
free education,

including free university.

They're wealthy, one of the most
equal societies on Earth.

What's the secret?

As I walked the pleasant streets
of Copenhagen, I came across a clue.

Sh, come on...

Look, that is a little toddler

having a sleep outside, in a pram,

in a public area
with lots of flats around.

Hiya. Hello. Have you just left your
child out to have a little nap?

Yeah.

It's a bit unusual, what you've just
done, from our perspective.

Yeah, well I live right in there,
so I leave her there to sleep,

and then I can hear her,
we have a little monitor,

so when she wakes up, I just go out.

I think a Danish mother in New York,
was leaving her child outside,

she was arrested, wasn't she?
She was arrested.

That suggests - only do
that in Denmark.

Probably a good idea, yeah.

You're a more-trusting
people, aren't you?

I think if you give people trust,
they will also show you that they

are worthy of trust, right,
in a way?

Have a good day.
All right, thank you. No worries.

Public trust is still so high here,

a toddler can be left napping
in fresh air.

Nearly 90% of Danes have
a high level of trust in others.

Trust isn't just nice.

It's critical.

Trust equals less corruption
and crime, more investment,

collaboration, productivity.

Academics have put a value on trust
- some think trust

accounts for 25% of Danish wealth!

I do think trust is
the secret sauce,

the glue that hold Scandinavia,
and Scandinavians together,

and makes this one of the most
successful parts of the planet ever.

So, how do you build trust?

Well, in Denmark one way's through
joining a club.

For football, volunteering,
activism, art, anything.

Many are helped and subsidised by
the government.



On average,
they join nearly three each.

CHORUS ENDS

Choirs are hugely popular.

Phie Ambo helped found this one.

So, you are not a church choir?

We're not at all a church choir.

We are actually a choir that works
against the fossil fuel industry.

Through song? Through song.

Through your voices.
Through our voices.

And through gathering together?
Yeah, yeah.

Danes are brilliant at joining
and starting clubs and associations.

That's why it's
so important to gather

and make communities that can
work together.

SPEAKS DANISH

This is key.

Danes belong to more groups,

clubs and unions than any other
nationality.

That helps build trust, happiness,
and social cohesion.

WHISPERS: I've got the words
on my phone.

THEY HUM

LAUGHTER AND CHEERING

But it would be wrong to think there
are no problems in Denmark.

All this social cohesion means
outsiders can sometimes feel

unwelcome - if you don't conform
here, it can feel uncomfortable.

Just like in Sweden,
here in Denmark,

there have been issues,
I think it's fair to say,

and controversy surrounding
migration and immigration.

But the government here has been
tackling it very differently.

I met up with Mohammed Aslam,
cab driver and campaigner.

Mohammed?
Hello. I'm Simon

Hello, Simon.
Very nice to see you.

Same here.

Mohammed speaks English
but prefers Danish.

You must be a very proud father.

I am. I am!

But still we are not
accepted as an equal in the country.

Partly in response to the crimewave
in Sweden and terrorism here,

Denmark's taken a really tough
line on integration.

Not just encouraging it,
but pushing it.

Islamic full-face coverings
are banned.

The Government even

introduced what was called a
"ghetto law" -

aimed at preventing neighbourhoods
being dominated by so-called

"non-Western" immigrants, along with
high crime and unemployment.

Let's get out. Yes.
Go and have a look.

One designated ghetto was
the multicultural neighbourhood

Mjolnerparken, where Mohammed
raised his family.

What's particularly extraordinary,
unusual, extreme

perhaps about this law is
the identification of non-Western.

It's basically saying that

if you're not from Western Europe or
some of the English-speaking

countries - Australia,
New Zealand, Canada etc,

then you can be classed
as non-Western,

and the state as a result
treats you differently.

This was classed as a ghetto

because more than 50% of people
came from non-Western backgrounds.

To reduce that number, some families
were actually forced to relocate.

Mohammed's was one of them.

Yeah.
Are you OK?

Mm. I'm OK.

You'd rather not look at it?
Yeah.

What reasons did
they give you for the evictions?

And in many ways,
non-Western means brown or black.

Brown, black, or Muslim.

That's my reading
and interpretation of the law.

Is that yours?

Exactly the same.

The people were forced
out of their homes.

The apartments, houses, homes
they lived in, were sold off.

Many were refurbished.

New families have moved in.

It's been described as the social
experiment of the century.

It's also been described as social
policy with a bulldozer.

No-one's ended up homeless,
but Mohammed's family,

and thousands more from other ghetto
areas have been or will be

rehoused in predominantly
white areas...

..with the stated aim they'll become
more integrated into Danish

society, with access to better jobs
and education.

And people, including
those from very different cultures,

will absorb Danish liberal values.

Reports identified early language
skills as key to integration,

so non-Western parents in ghetto
areas are now required to

send their one-year-olds
to preschools to ensure they learn

Danish, and "traditions and values"

- or they lose government welfare
benefits.

Ghettos have since been renamed
"parallel societies".

Did your children play here?
Yeah.

We played together with
the kids here.

The Danish government, of course,
will say that they were worried.

They are worried about integration.

They now talk about parallel
societies, don't they?

Do you see that concern, that issue?

Some say these polices are r*cist.

Mohammed is part of a group
mounting a legal challenge.

Others say that they're
an attempt to eradicate

pockets of deprivation, integrate
newcomers into super-successful

Denmark and prevent the kind
of violence happening in Sweden.

The laws have support across much
of the political spectrum here.

I really want to understand
what's happening here.

I'm being allowed
into the Danish Parliament.

MP and housing spokesman
Thomas Monberg is

part of the governing coalition
led by his Social Democratic Party

and including parties called
the Liberals and the Moderates.

We've got football tops here.

Yes, football over there...

Is this your... This is your party?
Yes, it is.

Look at -
this is very nuclear family,

very traditional old poster here.

Yes, it is.
Family values.

Family values but the children
have to be safe

and nicely home from school.

It's interesting you have
this in your office,

because your party is
unusual from our perspective.

You're quite left-wing
economically on many issues,

workers' rights etc.

Yes.

But traditional cultural values,
family values as well.

Yeah.

So, Thomas, can you explain this
ghetto law to me?

We started to see some
areas where there were

a lot of foreign people living,
and the state of education was

lower and more and more children
didn't go to school.

And that was something
we had to do something about.

But why focus on this phrase
"non-Western"?

Why? Why that?

Because it sounds like it's
targeted at -

it sounds like it's targeted mainly
at Muslims, in truth.

But it's not.

That's because of the culture
we have in Denmark.

And that's about equality of gender.

That's equality of education,
welfare, and all that.

Are you saying that non-Western
people, people outside that

definition, have less awareness or
understanding of those core values?

We can't accept that
a girl growing up in society

in Denmark doesn't have the same
rights as every other girl.

So, you're saying this is
an attempt to enforce

and impose fundamental
Danish values?

Yes, because we want everybody
that lives here to have a good life.

But what you're talking about is,
is painful for some people.

You are literally requiring people
to move out of their homes.

You are creating
a lot of trauma for some people.

I don't think you always
can say trauma

because not many are getting
evicted.

We have... I've met somebody...
Yes, yes, yes. ..who's crying.

Yes, yes, yes. I know, I know.

If you have to have a society
as ours, you have to be aware of

what's keep us together,
than what's taking us apart.

And the things that could take us
apart is

if people were living parallel
to each other in restricted

areas where there only were
people of non-Western.

You couldn't get any integration

because who should integrate those
people in the Danish society?

You have to have Danes to integrate
these people into society to,

to give them our values
and the feelings of our values,

because they're universal
for us, these values.

THEY SPEAK DANISH

This is the most traditional Danish
dish lunch I have seen.

Yes, it is.

My wife is half Danish.

Oh, yeah. So...yeah,

the open sandwich...

Is number one. Is number one. Yeah.

I know from personal experience
Danes can be brutally honest.

They don't shy from tough
conversations or facts.

Oh, my goodness. Yes.

Unlike other European states,
the government here publishes

controversial
and worrying crime statistics.

They revealed men from some
non-Western backgrounds are as much

as six times more likely to commit
violent crime than white Danes.

The facts horrified voters.

You release crime statistics showing
the nation of origin of people

convicted of violent offences.

Why have you been doing that?

That's because a lot of people
were feeling this.

And if we want to solve ordinary
people's problems,

then we have to know which problems
there are in society.

And there were problem in society.

And these high amounts of crime
rates reduces the trust or

breaks the trust between people
living in our country.

And that's very,
very important for us.

The coalition here says
by listening to the concerns of all

voters on immigration,
they maintain trust.

Immigration's been reduced,
integration is required.

Asylum's now seen as temporary
rather than a route to

permanent settlement.

I think sometimes in the UK
there's been this feeling that

people want something difficult.

They want less immigration
into the country, for example.

And a lot of our politicians haven't
really liked that view

and often they've kind of ignored
what people want.

We've tended to believe, as a
country, more in multiculturalism.

I sense in Denmark you don't
really follow that path.

You believe more in, in a Danish
way, in Danish values,

in monoculturalism almost.

It depends on how you look at it,
because

if you look on it in a culture where
you can practise your own beliefs,

that's allowed in Denmark.

But you have to agree it's
in here that the laws in Denmark

are made and it's the democracy that
stands over everything else.

In Denmark and Sweden, attitudes to
immigration have shifted,

fundamentally.

Leaders here now talk about the
financial and social costs.

Sweden's reduced overall net
immigration to zero.

Denmark has the same target.

Fewer people are being
granted asylum.

In fact they'll offer up to £26,000
for immigrants to return home.

For liberal Scandis,
it's a paradigm shift.

I'd reached the end of my journey
clear that for most people

the Scandi countries provide a
magnificent standard of living...

To be born Norwegian, that's winning
a lottery really, isn't it?

It feels like it.

But remember, in Norway wealth is
largely built on the fossil fuels

that threaten to permanently
damage our climate.

And even in liberal Sweden, I met
indigenous people who feel

forgotten and excluded.

It's like a lifestyle that's
slowly fading away.

Scandinavia has enjoyed
decades of peace,

but across the region there's
a genuine fear w*r may

be around the corner.

But despite threats
and problems, Scandinavian

societies still seem to work better
than anywhere else I've been.

You love it, don't you?! I can tell!

At the root of it all, people kept
talking to me about trust -

people trust their neighbours,
the state, teachers -

they even seem to trust politicians
to take sensible decisions.

Look at this. I saw shops left
open - where people are trusted to

pay for what they take away.

This for me, I think, is something
that is central to the success of

modern Scandinavia,
and that is trust.

This journey has opened my eyes to a
part of the world we often overlook.

Perhaps the most successful human
societies that have ever existed.

Definitely worth knowing
a bit more about.

I've loved every second.