The Danish Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Stig Barlyng, has commended Ghana­ians in general and politicians in particu­lar for exhibiting rare constitutional sta­mina in the light of the closest result in the 2008 general election. He recalled that "during the exciting and nail-biting days between the first voting and the last result, Ghanaians rose to the challenge of maintaining trust in democra­cy", adding that "Ghana has shown the way, not only to sister nations in the sub­-region, but to the rest of the world". Mr Barlyng made the commendation during the celebration of the 160th Independence/National Constitution Day of Denmark in Accra in remembrance of the 1849 signing of the Danish Constitution which made Denmark a constitutional monarchy. He said, "To Ghanaian politicians, a very slim majority should always be a reminder that political power is illusive. Democracy works best when the majority and minority agree on the fundamentals, and agree to disagree on means of fulfilling the basics," he stated. Mr Barlyng stressed "In democracy, respect for minority is as important as look­ing for the comfort of the majority". He acknowledged the fact that Ghana was confronted with economic challenges as a result of the global economic down­turn, but expressed the hope that a solution could be found in the adaptation of new realities in sub-regional, continental and global alliances. Ghana, he said, would forge ahead by strengthening democracy, decentralisation and good governance. The ambassador stated that Denmark had had cordial relations with Ghana for· about 400 years, which, if observed with "present-day eyes", were problematic, but now was far ahead in the positive direction. He said celebration of the Danish Con­stitution was marking democracy with a whole array of freedoms and rights, where one person's liberties and rights were limit­ed by similar rights and liberties of every other citizen. "This code is the sacred, simple and basic principle in the law of laws-the Constitution," he declared, and recounted the various constitutional amendments, which the Danish Constitution had gone through, with a referendum to be held today to rectify the popular female succession of the monarch. Mr Barlyng expressed the Danish gov­ernment's intention to maintain funding for Africa's development irrespective of the economic hardship that also confronted them. "We are staunch supporters of the inter­national development agenda with focus on strengthening the country-led development as expressed in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Accra Agenda for Action," he emphasised. The Minister of Agriculture, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, who led the government delega­tion, also acknowledged the contribution made by Denmark towards the develop­!pent of Ghana and expressed the govern­ment's determination to build a solid demo­cratic state. He observed that with support from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), Ghana had been able to reduce child mortality rate, malaria and guinea worm infestation in the country. Mr Ahwoi agreed that these were chal­lenging times that required innovation and alliances with sub-regional, continental and global partners if Ghana was to forge ahead in its development agenda. He expressed the government's commitment to the fight against climate change, which Denmark was at the forefront. Source: Daily Graphic