On the Inside

“On the Inside” is a weekly program aired Wednesdays at 8 p.m. This unique format has been a very successful new look at politics and current affairs in Denmark. Two reporters are stationed in the Parliament in a small office, and from there they roam the corridors and “surprise” the politicians with their often bizarre questions about new laws and their consequences. The reporters always ask very basic and concrete questions and they never take the position of the “knowing insider.” This position forces the politicians to be very precise and exact – thus giving the viewer a chance to understand complicated matters. In this episode, the subject is a very complex plan for the environment. How can this be explained on TV? By using a small pig – the favorite Danish meat and export! The pig is carried around into the offices of those responsible for the environmental plan. Also, some of the farmers, who are on the receiving end of this plan, are asked about the consequences for them. This program shows politicians as ordinary people – how can they react otherwise when asked to hold a little pig? And at the same time, the reporters tear down the wall between politicians and the public. This unpretentious series is very popular, even with TV critics and, not surprisingly, also with politicians in Parliament.