When Denmark goes to the polls on March 24 to elect a new parliament, they have 12 parties to choose from. Counting the outlying provinces of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, as many as 16 parties could win seats in Folketinget.
This is a high number for a relatively small country of six million people, but the myriad of choices is not new. Unlike its larger Scandinavian neighbors, Denmark has always had a democracy based on many smaller parties.
There is strength in this: by having many choices, the representative Danish democracy captures many nuances in the electorate. For example, in the March 24 election, voters who lean conservative can choose between the traditional Conservatives, the immigration-critical Danish People’s Party, the openly anti-Islam Citizens’ Party, and the Denmark Democrats, which is an amalgamation of the other three. Voters inclined to choose in this direction can pull the conservative side toward traditional conservatism, hardline nationalism, or a religiously motivated defense of Denmark as a Christian nation.
In a similar fashion, voters on the left have a palette of nuances to choose from: the Unity List and its more traditional Marxism, the Socialist People’s Party with roots in eurocommunism, the Alternative with an aggressive environmental agenda, or the Radical Left, which is trying to hit all the leftist buttons at once.
Four parties are fighting for the more centrist ground: the Social Democrats, the Liberal Alliance, the Left—which, contrary to its name, is a center-right party—and the Moderates. The incumbent government is a centrist coalition with the Social Democrats, the Moderates, and the Left under Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s stewardship.
Some of these parties are old; some of them have not been around very long. Danish political parties come and go, and they shift in ideological nuances over time, sometimes depending on who the party leader is. This, together with the large number of parties, easily gives the impression that Danish politics—especially as it plays out in the Folketinget—is volatile and unpredictable.
That is not the case. Danish politics is not a myriad of elected opinions; it is a mosaic of shades of moral and ideological values. The people who get the privilege of serving the Danish people as members of parliament quickly learn to reflect this mosaic: to get anything done legislatively, everyone has to learn to negotiate; give and take; rely on political opponents; and make friends among one’s own ideological adversaries.
If the current opinion polls are any indication of where the election is going, compromising and alliance-building skills will be in even higher demand when the next parliament convenes.
- The Social Democrats, whose parliamentary seats currently represent 28% of the electorate, are polling at 21%;
- The Left, second in size, are predicted to fall from 11% to 8.9%;
- The Denmark Democrats, third in size today at 9%, are down to 7.7%.
Winners so far in the opinion polls are the Liberal Alliance, which could improve on last election’s 8% by as much as one-third, and the Socialist People’s Party, which also came in at 8% in the 2022 election. This time, they could become the second largest party in Denmark with 13.4% of the votes.
The rise of the Socialist People’s Party closely mirrors the decline of support for the Social Democrats. There is also a mild tailwind for smaller parties, on both the Left and the Right.
Two patterns emerge in the electorate: there is a more pronounced left-right polarization, and the incumbent coalition under Prime Minister Frederiksen is being punished.
It would be tempting to blame the Social Democrats’ likely major voter loss on the prime minister herself, but in fairness to her, it has been a rough ride to govern any European country in the past four years. It has been even more challenging for the prime minister of a small country that is both a major supporter of Ukraine and the formal custodian of Greenland.
At the same time, the Frederiksen government has not made things easier for itself. In a tax reform in 2023, the Social Democrat-led coalition cut the top income tax rate and increased the so-called earned income tax credit. This tax reform drew criticism from the Left for putting more money in the pockets of ‘billionaire heirs,’ even though the tax credit was specifically designed to reduce the tax burden for workers with low and moderate paychecks.
After pushing this tax reform through parliament and defending it over the past couple of years, the Social Democrats are now campaigning on raising taxes. In a stunning move that can only be interpreted as a measure to stop the Social Democrats’ bleeding voters to the left, Frederiksen has announced a wealth tax that—if implemented as designed—would have downright confiscatory effects on higher incomes.
In a recent debate between the party leaders on Danish national TV, Moderate Party leader Lars Løkke Rasmussen referred to the new Social Democrat tax policy as a desire to ‘guillotine the rich.’ His comment, although coming from a party in the centrist fold of Danish politics, nevertheless reflects the campaign trend of left-right polarization. Together with the flow of influence from larger to smaller parties, this could make it more difficult to form a sustainable government after the election.
Then again, if there is one thing Danish politicians are good at, it is the formation of friendships and alliances across the most unexpected dividing lines in the political landscape. And one thing is clear: whatever the outcome of the election, the Danes are still going to tend to their famous gardens, take their equally famous lunch breaks, and enjoy abundant access to what is—and is marketed as—”probably the best beer in the world.”
Danish Political Pragmatism Challenged by Rising Polarization
“The joy of conflict is short-lived”(“Stakket er stridens glæde”) says the text on a wall frieze in Vandrehallen, Folketinget, Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Peter Leth, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
You may also like
War, Pacifism, and the Failure of German Political Leadership
Over decades, Germany’s political elites have systematically undermined the very values that might inspire citizens to feel a stake in their country’s defence.
Jürgen Habermas: A Lecture for Europe’s Conservatives
Habermas does not teach conservatives how to shout down the Left. He teaches them how to make the Left answer.
Out Go the Hereditary Peers—In Comes the Political Class
Removing hereditary peers may make Britain’s constitution look more “modern.” But it also leaves the House of Lords increasingly shaped by political patronage.
When Denmark goes to the polls on March 24 to elect a new parliament, they have 12 parties to choose from. Counting the outlying provinces of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, as many as 16 parties could win seats in Folketinget.
This is a high number for a relatively small country of six million people, but the myriad of choices is not new. Unlike its larger Scandinavian neighbors, Denmark has always had a democracy based on many smaller parties.
There is strength in this: by having many choices, the representative Danish democracy captures many nuances in the electorate. For example, in the March 24 election, voters who lean conservative can choose between the traditional Conservatives, the immigration-critical Danish People’s Party, the openly anti-Islam Citizens’ Party, and the Denmark Democrats, which is an amalgamation of the other three. Voters inclined to choose in this direction can pull the conservative side toward traditional conservatism, hardline nationalism, or a religiously motivated defense of Denmark as a Christian nation.
In a similar fashion, voters on the left have a palette of nuances to choose from: the Unity List and its more traditional Marxism, the Socialist People’s Party with roots in eurocommunism, the Alternative with an aggressive environmental agenda, or the Radical Left, which is trying to hit all the leftist buttons at once.
Four parties are fighting for the more centrist ground: the Social Democrats, the Liberal Alliance, the Left—which, contrary to its name, is a center-right party—and the Moderates. The incumbent government is a centrist coalition with the Social Democrats, the Moderates, and the Left under Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s stewardship.
Some of these parties are old; some of them have not been around very long. Danish political parties come and go, and they shift in ideological nuances over time, sometimes depending on who the party leader is. This, together with the large number of parties, easily gives the impression that Danish politics—especially as it plays out in the Folketinget—is volatile and unpredictable.
That is not the case. Danish politics is not a myriad of elected opinions; it is a mosaic of shades of moral and ideological values. The people who get the privilege of serving the Danish people as members of parliament quickly learn to reflect this mosaic: to get anything done legislatively, everyone has to learn to negotiate; give and take; rely on political opponents; and make friends among one’s own ideological adversaries.
If the current opinion polls are any indication of where the election is going, compromising and alliance-building skills will be in even higher demand when the next parliament convenes.
Winners so far in the opinion polls are the Liberal Alliance, which could improve on last election’s 8% by as much as one-third, and the Socialist People’s Party, which also came in at 8% in the 2022 election. This time, they could become the second largest party in Denmark with 13.4% of the votes.
The rise of the Socialist People’s Party closely mirrors the decline of support for the Social Democrats. There is also a mild tailwind for smaller parties, on both the Left and the Right.
Two patterns emerge in the electorate: there is a more pronounced left-right polarization, and the incumbent coalition under Prime Minister Frederiksen is being punished.
It would be tempting to blame the Social Democrats’ likely major voter loss on the prime minister herself, but in fairness to her, it has been a rough ride to govern any European country in the past four years. It has been even more challenging for the prime minister of a small country that is both a major supporter of Ukraine and the formal custodian of Greenland.
At the same time, the Frederiksen government has not made things easier for itself. In a tax reform in 2023, the Social Democrat-led coalition cut the top income tax rate and increased the so-called earned income tax credit. This tax reform drew criticism from the Left for putting more money in the pockets of ‘billionaire heirs,’ even though the tax credit was specifically designed to reduce the tax burden for workers with low and moderate paychecks.
After pushing this tax reform through parliament and defending it over the past couple of years, the Social Democrats are now campaigning on raising taxes. In a stunning move that can only be interpreted as a measure to stop the Social Democrats’ bleeding voters to the left, Frederiksen has announced a wealth tax that—if implemented as designed—would have downright confiscatory effects on higher incomes.
In a recent debate between the party leaders on Danish national TV, Moderate Party leader Lars Løkke Rasmussen referred to the new Social Democrat tax policy as a desire to ‘guillotine the rich.’ His comment, although coming from a party in the centrist fold of Danish politics, nevertheless reflects the campaign trend of left-right polarization. Together with the flow of influence from larger to smaller parties, this could make it more difficult to form a sustainable government after the election.
Then again, if there is one thing Danish politicians are good at, it is the formation of friendships and alliances across the most unexpected dividing lines in the political landscape. And one thing is clear: whatever the outcome of the election, the Danes are still going to tend to their famous gardens, take their equally famous lunch breaks, and enjoy abundant access to what is—and is marketed as—”probably the best beer in the world.”
Our community starts with you
READ NEXT
Keir Starmer: Traitor or Incompetent?
Saint-Denis, ‘City of Kings’, and the Great Replacement: A Case Study
During Lent, Fasts of Crescent and Cross Are Not the Same