Snow has been falling steadily for more than 24 hours, giving Copenhagen a white carpet. Outside the neo-baroque Christiansborg Palace, home to both the Danish parliament and the prime minister’s office, and known as Borgen, a workman is shovelling snow.

There is no 10 Downing Street-style entrance here, just an anonymous-looking doorway and a cramped lift to take visitors up to the PM’s office. Inside, there is an eerie calm, with just an occasional staff member shuffling down the wide corridors.

Three days after my visit, the Danish government is plunged into crisis. One of three parties in a minority coalition quits amid a public outcry over a DKr8bn ($1.4bn) investment by Goldman Sachs in state-owned energy company, Dong Energy. The turmoil leads to a seventh reshuffle for the centre-left government, which came to power in September 2011.