If Shakespeare thought there was something rotten in the state of Denmark, today it’s fabled as a success story. After the fall of Soviet socialism, Francis Fukuyama was proclaiming “the end of history” and the triumph of liberal hegemony. But after the 2008 crisis, he’d changed to talking about how other countries ought to try “getting to Denmark.” Fukuyama took it is a metaphor for a country with a good balance between strong institutions, rule of law, and democratic accountability.

But this isn’t the only positive take on the Scandinavian country. Before his first presidential campaign Bernie Sanders held rallies where he posed the question “What can we learn from Denmark?” He drew on its example of free health care and education, a progressive redistributive tax system, parental leave, paid vacation, and unemployment benefits.

In the first debate between the Democrats’ presidential candidates in 2015, Hillary Clinton responded distant: “We are not Denmark. I love Denmark. We are the United States of America.” After the debate, Denmark’s prime minister had to underline that the country is in fact a market economy, not a socialist democracy.