The country you personally most respect

[Diable Rouge]

I'll leave it suitably open-ended, except for it combining politics, sports and culture - the top four or five will then go forward to a poll.

[Fussbudget]

Weird thread.

[pebblethefish]

That's ok - lot of weird people on here

New Zealand have about the only prime minister that I respect, and their lack of whingeing in defeat (cricket world cup final) could teach a lot of nations a thing or two.

[Sporting]

Agree with pebble

[WOM]

New Zealand or Iceland for me.

[Sporting]

Germany

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

Germany or Denmark for me, though purely as a visitor and I don't know how it would be to live in either.

[tee rex]

There's obviously a built-in bias to wealthier countries here: there's unlikely to be a first class health system in many developing nations, for example.

To change the question slightly, in my lifetime there have been various countries held up as Good Guys for a while, and then they faded as events or fashions changed. Yugoslavia was Good back when being non-Soviet was enough to get a favourable image. It didn't last. The Nordics are always there or thereabouts. Perhaps the poster nation for "never in the bad headlines but we don't really know anything about them" has been Costa Rica.

[Nocturnal Submission]

There's obviously a buit-in bias to wealthier countries here: there's unlikely to be a first class health system in many developing nations, for example.

To change the question slightly, in my lifetime there have been various countries held up as Good Guys for a while, and then they faded as events or fashions changed. Yugoslavia was Good back when being non-Soviet was enough to get a favourable image. It didn't last. The Nordics are always there or thereabouts. Perhaps the poster nation for "never in the bad headlines but we don't really know anything about them" has been Costa Rica.

One of my best mates lives in Costa Rica so I now know a bit more about it than I did a few years ago. It does seem like an island of calm civility in an ocean of violence and instability, relatively-speaking at least.

My vote goes to one of the Nordic nations, though I'm not sure which one.

I'll plump for Norway.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Denmark would get my vote but I don't know if they still go whaling. Estonia seems pretty okay, as does Latvia.

[Sits]

Nepal, if I’m remembering correctly.

Would be New Zealand but for Winston Peters.

[Diable Rouge]

Denmark would get my vote but I don't know if they still go whaling. Estonia seems pretty okay, as does Latvia.

TBF, that's in the Faroes and Greenland, rather than "mainland" Denmark.

[Logan Mountstuart]

I've got a soft spot for Scotland at the moment. Keeping its dignity, and it's head up in an ever rising sea of shit.

[johnr]

Costa Rica. No army. Pretty good football team. Election day is a national holiday. All good.

[Wouter D]

I'll have Canada, with a runner-up spot for Norway.

[sw2borshch]

Uruguay is meant to be pretty good if you are social democracy minded.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

If you think another country's shit doesn't smell, it's generally a marker that you don't know enough about them. For instance Denmark seems to have it going on in so many different ways. However if you pay closer attention, it seems that fixing most social and economic problems in a society just means that people find something else to focus their anger on, and in this case it's muslims.

[via vicaria]

If you think another country's shit doesn't smell, it's generally a marker that you don't know enough about them. For instance Denmark seems to have it going on in so many different ways. However if you pay closer attention, it seems that fixing most social and economic problems in a society just means that people find something else to focus their anger on, and in this case it's muslims.

Tend to agree, I'd say you're on the same hiding to nothing looking for a country that's deserving of lots of admiration and respect as you would be trying to find politicians to idolise or respect. Sure a lot are better than others, and you'll probably like a few, but there's going to be some mark against them somewhere.

As far as I'd pick any, it would be a small and quiet one. San Marino seems to have been sitting on its hill minding its own business for the last 1700 years, so them.

[ad hoc]

San Marino has by far the highest Covid19 death rate of any nation. Admittedly that;s only 42 deaths, but that's a rate of over 1200 per million. May not be a failure of its systems, mind you, it may be a feature of being surrounded by the worst affected areas of Italy.

[Foot of Astaire's]

Germany in 1st place, just edging out Iceland.

[Sporting]

There were some financial shenanigans in Iceland, weren't there?

[ursus arctos]

More than a few, but then they did put senior bankers in jail.

[ad hoc]

Country	Pros	Cons
New Zealand	Jacinda Ahern Flight of the Concords Cricket Multiculturalism Scenery and ting tee rex and lurgee	Rugby union Winston Peters Lord of the fucking rings Bit earthquakey
Denmark	Social systems Apparently unboastful Victor Borge Viggo Mortensen The Laudrups The Bridge	Bit islamophobic Apparent unboastfulness conceals obsession with world beating products ("best beer" "best bacon" "best butter". Give it a rest lads) John Jensen Hygge
Iceland	Nice flag Cool landscape Good government Overachieving football team Siggi Jonsson	A bit far (see also: NZ) A bit volcano-ey That viking clapping chant the football fans do Also the name of what used to be Bejam
Costa Rica	No army National parks and general environmental protection Seems chilled Paulo Wanchope	"Pura Vida" sounds a bit cultish Beans and rice seems a bit meh for a national cuisine

[MsD]

ad hoc ^ good summary, but there is a bit of racism in NZ, disappointingly. Also, they drive like fucking maniacs.

[Sporting]

Has anyone mentioned Portugal?