"Ombudsmand" is a Danish word that certain other countries have adopted. Basically it's an independent office that has the power to investigate certain kinds of

"Ombudsmand" is a Danish word that certain other countries have adopted. Basically it's an independent office that has the power to investigate certain kinds of issues within their remit. For instance, there's a consumer ombudsman who can look at shady practices like signing up people for subscriptions they didn't think were going to happen. There's also "THE Ombudsman" which was the original independent watchdog over government affairs, who will comment that some legal manuever was possibly wrong. Of course one might add that there is very little questioning of the ombudsman himself, historically. If you get dragged into a case and he says your website is scammy, he's right and you're wrong. The office hasn't been drawn into politics, something that you might imagine would destroy trust in the institution. The Danish government fell on a case brought by the big Ombudsmanden once, but nobody was bringing into question the legitimacy of the office. The question is then whether such an office would be transplantable to other countries, where things are more polarized. Perhaps one of the biggest things comparing Denmark and eg the US is that there are institutions in Denmark that people trust, whereas in the US everyone is put in a red or blue box.