Denmark

Tamara ugi
Faculty of Political Sciences
Party Competition and Party Systems in the EU Member States

CONTENT
1.

Historical Background

2.

Electoral System

3.

Party System

4.

Elections 2015

HISTORY

12500 BC - The first hunters inhabit Danish lands

400-700 - Urbanisation begins

866-867 - Viking conquest of York

1015-1034 - England under Danish rule

1397-1523 - The Kalmar Union

1849 - First liberal constitution, the June Constitution

WWI neutrality

WWII - German occupation

1945 - Founding membership of the UN

1949 - Membership of NATO

1973 - Membership of the EEC

1993 - Membership of the EU

ELECTORAL SYSTEM

constitutional monarchy - Queen: Margrethe II

negative parliamentarianism

The Parliament of the Kingdom of Denmark consists of a single chamber, the

Folketing, composed of 179 members directly elected by universal adult
suffrage for a maximum term of four years

a two-tier, six-stage proportional representation (PR) system

2% threshold

multi-member constituency

1973 ELECTIONS

PARTY SYSTEM 1945 - 1973

Since the introduction of full PR in 1920, Denmark

has developed a multi-party system, characterized at

times by a fairly high degree of political fragmentation

up to the beginning of the 1970s - stability and

consensus

LIST

VOTES %

SEATS

Social Democratic Party

25,6

46

Progress Party

15,9

28

Liberal Party of Denmark

12,3

22

Danish Social-Liberal Party

11,2

20

Conservative People's Party

9,2

16

Center Democrats

7,8

14

result of the 1973 election

Socialist People's Party

11

'around five' party system

Christian People's Party

moderate pluralism

Communist Party of Denmark

Justice Party

2,9

Faroe Islands

Greenland

PARTY SYSTEM 1973 - 1988

four 'old parties' experienced a serious defeat in the 1973 election

blackmail potential

eight to nine relevant parties

polarised pluralism

Anti-system parties

Bilateral oppositions

ELECTIONS

EFFECTIVE
NUMBER OF
PARTIES

1981

5,47

1984

5,04

1945

4,48

1987

5,31

1947

3,56

1988

5,31

1950

3,99

1990

4,36

1953

3,63

1994

4,54

1957

3,76

1998

4,71

1960

3,59

2001

4,48

1964

3,50

2005

4,89

1966

3,96

2007

5,33

1968

4,23

2011

5,61

1971

394

2015

5.85

1973

6,86

1975

5,41

1977

5,17

1979

4,83

POLITICAL PARTIES

PARTY

IDEOLOGY

EU

RESULTS 2015

Socialdemokratiet (SD)
Social Democracy

Social democracy

PES

26,3%
47

Dansk Folkeparti (DF)

Danish People's Party

National conservatism
Social conservatism
Right-wing populism

21,1 %
37

Venstre - Danmarks Liberale Parti Conservative liberalism

(V)
Agrarianism
Left - Denmark's Liberal Party

ALDE Party

19,5%
34

Enhedslisten - De Rd-Grnne
(EL)
Unity List - The Red-Greens

Socialism
Eco-socialism
Euroscepticism

PEL

7,8%
14

Liberal Alliance (LA)

Liberalism

7,5%
13

Alternativet (A)
Alternative

Green politics

4,8%
9

Det Radikale Venstre (RV)

Radical Left

Social liberalism

ALDE Party

Socialistisk Folkeparti (SF)

Socialist People's Party

Green politics
Democratic socialism

European Greens 4,2%

7

4,6%
8

LITERATURE

Lars Bille (1989): Denmark: The oscillating party system, West European
Politics, 12:4, 42-58

Andersen, Jrgen Goul (2003) :The Danish People's Party and new cleavages in
Danish politics, Aalborg University

Parties and Elections in Europe, http://www.parties-andelections.eu/denmark.html (April,2016)

Folketinget,
www.thedanishparliament.dk/Democracy/Political_parties/The_history_of_po
litical_parties_in_Denmark.aspx (April,2016)

Norsk Senter for Forskningsdata,

http://www.nsd.uib.no/european_election_database/country/denmark/parti
es.html (April,2016)