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Denmark Democrats

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Denmark Democrats – Inger Støjberg
Danmarksdemokraterne – Inger Støjberg
AbbreviationDD
Æ[a]
ChairpersonInger Støjberg
Parliamentary leaderPeter Skaarup
FounderInger Støjberg
Founded23 June 2022; 2 years ago (2022-06-23)
Split fromVenstre
Danish People's Party
IdeologyRight-wing populism
Political positionRight-wing to far-right[3]
Regional affiliationNordic Freedom[b]
European Parliament groupEuropean Conservatives and Reformists
Colours  Red   Blue
Folketing
14 / 179[c]
European Parliament
1 / 14
Municipal councils
27 / 2,436
Election symbol
Æ
Website
danmarksdemokraterne.dk

The Denmark Democrats (Danish: Danmarksdemokraterne, DD) is a right-wing populist[4] political party in Denmark. The party was founded in June 2022 by Inger Støjberg,[5][6] and is officially titled Denmark Democrats – Inger Støjberg (Danmarksdemokraterne – Inger Støjberg).[7] The party is currently in opposition to the second Frederiksen government.

History

[edit]
Former and early party logo from 2022
The Second party logo from 2022-2024

The party was founded in June 2022 by Inger Støjberg who had served variously as the minister for immigration, housing and gender equality in the Folketing for the Venstre party before she was impeached for misconduct in office after separating families in migrant centres and was accused of party disloyalty.[8] According to Støjberg, her new movement would be a right-wing party with a strict immigration policy, but at the time of its founding there was no actual party platform.[9] In July, the party was formally registered after obtaining the necessary voter declarations on 1 July, eight days after the party was founded.[10][11]

That same month, Members of the Folketing Peter Skaarup,[12] Jens Henrik Thulesen Dahl,[13] Bent Bøgsted,[14] and Hans Kristian Skibby[15] announced that they wished to join the Denmark Democrats. These four were originally elected to the Folketing for the Danish People's Party (DPP) but had since become independents before joining the party.[16] Skaarup was admitted as a member on 28 July 2022, giving the party its first seat in the Folketing.[17]

In August 2022, nine local councilors defected to the party, including former local members of the Conservative People's Party.[18][19]

In the 2022 Danish general election held on 1 November 2022, the party won 8.1% of the vote and 14 seats, making them the fifth largest party in the Folketing along with the Liberal Alliance.[20]

Ideology and platform

[edit]
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The party is positioned on the right-wing[21][22] of the political spectrum. Media commentators have described the party as deriving its name and policy ideas from the neighbouring successes of the Sweden Democrats. Journalist Theodoros Benakis opined that the party is right-wing populist, anti-immigration, and eurosceptic,[23] while the party has also been described as far-right.[1][2]

In the interview in which party founder Inger Støjberg announced her leadership of the party, she stated: "I think that what is missing is a borgerlig [bourgeois or middle-class] party that takes care of the interests of the majority of people. And that has a clear view of everything that goes on outside of Copenhagen. I think that the connecting lines between Copenhagen and the rest of Denmark are becoming weak."[24] She also stated one of the main focuses of the party would be to review Denmark's immigration policy.[25]

On its website and early policy brief, the party seeks to improve conditions for the elderly, young people, and small and medium-sized companies. It also aims to combat what it describes as overbearing bureaucracy from the European Union (EU) on Denmark and wants to further decentralize power to regions outside of the capital. It also wants to increase funding for the police and calls for compulsory policies for immigrants to adapt to Danish culture.[26] In an updated policy platform, the Denmark Democrats stated its objectives to be removing all EU influence on Danish pension, tax and maternity leave policies, tougher regulation on car leasing companies, tax deductions for workers who commute above certain distances, removing VAT on energy bills, changes to the Danish education system to encourage more vocational training, and reforms and cuts to Denmark's foreign aid and government funded arts budgets.[27]

Election results

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Parliament

[edit]
Election Leader Votes % Seats +/- Government
2022 Inger Støjberg 286,796 8.12 (#5)
14 / 179
 New Opposition

European Parliament

[edit]
Year List leader Votes % Seats +/– EP Group
2024 Kristoffer Hjort Storm 180,836 7.39 (#5)
1 / 15
 New ECR

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Official party letter on voting ballot
  2. ^ Part of the Nordic Freedom subgroup within the ECR group but not part of the Nordic Freedom group within the Nordic Council.
  3. ^ Only 175 of the 179 seats in the Danish Parliament, the Folketing, are obtainable by Danish political parties as Greenland and the Faroe Islands are assigned two seats each due to their status as territories in the Kingdom of Denmark.

References

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  1. ^ a b Mortensen, Nikolaj Houmann. "Denmark set to keep anti-immigrant policy regardless of vote". www.aljazeera.com.
  2. ^ a b Goodman, Amy (31 October 2022). "Election will show if Denmark's rebellious streak veers right". Youth Journalism International. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  3. ^ [1][2]
  4. ^ Eric S. Einhorn (2023). "Scandinavia". In Erik Jones; Masha Hedberg (eds.). Europe Today: A Twenty-First Century Introduction. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 124. ISBN 978-15-3811094-2.
  5. ^ "Inger Støjberg bekræfter: Stifter parti - TV 2" (in Danish). TV 2. 2022-06-23. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
  6. ^ Synnestvedt, Anne Meisner; Schulz, Rasmus Bragh (2022-06-23). "Bent Winther: Med Støjbergs nye parti tegner sig et kaos i blå blok, som er næsten totalt". Berlingske (in Danish). Retrieved 2022-06-23.
  7. ^ "Om partiet". Vælgererklæring.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 2022-06-22. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
  8. ^ Martin Borre (2 February 2021), "Folketinget stemmer om historisk rigsretssag mod Støjberg – følg med her", Berlingske.dk (in Danish), retrieved 2 February 2021
  9. ^ "Her er Inger Støjbergs nye politik". TV 2. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
  10. ^ "Runder 20.182 vælgererklæringer: Støjbergs parti kan stille op til næste folketingsvalg". Altinget.dk (in Danish). July 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  11. ^ Ritzau (6 July 2022). "Inger Støjberg har ansøgt om partibogstavet Æ". Jyllands-Posten. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  12. ^ Morten Henriksen; Rasmus Lindegård Hansen; Jeppe Ørregaard (2022-06-24). "Peter Skaarup forlader Dansk Folkeparti: Vil være kandidat i Inger Støjbergs nye parti". DR. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  13. ^ Laura Kongsmark Schuldt (2022-06-24). "Jens Henrik Thulesen Dahl melder sig ind i Støjbergs nye parti". TV 2. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  14. ^ Klaus Videbæk (2022-06-25). "Endnu en tidligere DF'er melder sig klar for Danmarksdemokraterne". DR. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  15. ^ Maja Lærke Maach (2022-06-25). "Tidligere DF'er Hans Kristian Skibby vil også være med i Støjbergs parti". DR. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  16. ^ See
  17. ^ Ritzau (2022-07-28). "Peter Skaarup er blevet medlem af Danmarksdemokraterne". Politiken (in Danish). Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  18. ^ Kasper Valentin Poulsen; Andreas Esbjørnsen (17 August 2022). "Danmarksdemokraterne er nu repræsenteret i ni kommuner". altinget.dk. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  19. ^ Allan Andersen (17 August 2022). "Politisk bombe: Konservatives Byrådsmedlem Lars Bregnbak træder ud af byrådet". Netavisen Gribskov. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  20. ^ "Valgresultater 2022 - Mandatfordeling & Personlige stemmer | DR". www.dr.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  21. ^ "No clear winner in Danish parliamentary election exit polls". PBS NewsHour. 1 November 2022.
  22. ^ Nielsen, Jasmina; Kwai, Isabella (2 November 2022). "Denmark's Center-Left Coalition Wins Election Majority". The New York Times.
  23. ^ Jyllands-Posten (23 June 2022). "Overblik: Det vil Støjberg og Danmarksdemokraterne" (in Danish). Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  24. ^ Ole Dall (23 June 2022). "Inger Støjberg i sit første interview som partileder: - Der mangler fokus på Danmark uden for København". Skive Folkeblad. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  25. ^ "Her er Inger Støjbergs nye politik". TV 2. Hentet 23 June 2022.
  26. ^ "A good future". Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  27. ^ "A good future". Retrieved 2022-12-15.
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