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Social Democrats (Denmark)

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Social Democrats
Socialdemokratiet
AbbreviationS
A[a]
ChairpersonMette Frederiksen
Deputy chairsLennart Damsbo-Andersen
Christian Rabjerg Madsen
Founded15 October 1871; 153 years ago (1871-10-15)
HeadquartersVester Voldgade 96 1552, Copenhagen
NewspaperSocialdemokraten
Student wingFrit Forum – Social Democratic Students of Denmark
Youth wingSocial Democratic Youth of Denmark
Membership (2020)32,137[1]
IdeologySocial democracy
Pro-Europeanism
Political positionCentre-left[A][2]
European affiliationParty of European Socialists
European Parliament groupProgressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
International affiliationProgressive Alliance
Nordic affiliationSAMAK
The Social Democratic Group
Colours  Red
AnthemNår jeg ser et rødt flag smælde[3]
('When I See a Red Flag Billow')
Folketing
50 / 179[b]
European Parliament
3 / 14
Regions[4]
64 / 205
Municipalities[5]
756 / 2,436
Mayors
44 / 98
Election symbol
Website
socialdemokratiet.dk

^ A: The party has also been described as left-conservative,[6] given its more conservative stances on some socio-cultural issues.[7]

The Social Democrats (Danish: Socialdemokratiet, pronounced [soˈɕɛˀlte̝moˌkʰʁɑˀtɪət], lit.'The Social Democracy', S) is a social democratic[8][9] political party in Denmark. A member of the Party of European Socialists, the Social Democrats have 50 out of 179 members of the Danish parliament (following the latest Danish general election held in 2022), Folketing, and three out of fourteen MEPs elected from Denmark.

Founded by Louis Pio in 1871, the party first entered the Folketing in the 1884 Danish Folketing election. By the early 20th century, it had become the party with the largest representation in the Folketing, a distinction it would hold for 77 years. It first formed a government after the 1924 Danish Folketing election under Thorvald Stauning, the longest-serving Danish Prime Minister of the 20th century. During Stauning's government which lasted until the 1926 Danish Folketing election, the Social Democrats exerted a profound influence on Danish society, laying the foundation of the Danish welfare state. From 2002 to 2016, the party used the name Socialdemokraterne in some contexts.[10][11] The party was a member of the Labour and Socialist International from 1923 to 1940. A member of the Socialist International until 2017, the party withdrew to join the Progressive Alliance, founded in 2013.

The party was the major coalition partner in government from the 2011 Danish general election until the 2015 Danish general election, with then-party leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt as Prime Minister. After losing power in the 2015 election, Thorning-Schmidt was succeeded as party leader on 28 June 2015 by the former Vice Leader Mette Frederiksen, who shifted the party back to the political left on economics, while criticising mass immigration.[12][13] Frederiksen led the party to win the 2019 and 2022 Danish general election, forming a single-party minority government from 2019 to 2022 and a majority grand-coalition government with the centre-right Venstre and the centrist Moderates since 2022.

Overview

[edit]

The party traces its own history back to the International Labour Association, founded in 1871 and banned in 1873, loosely re-organised in the Social Democratic Labour Party which in 1876 issued the Gimle program, but as a formal political party it was first founded from 11–12 February 1878 as the Social Democratic Federation. This name was formally carried by the party for almost a hundred years, although in practice it also used a number of other names until it changed its name to Social Democracy in 1965. At a congress in Aalborg in 2002, the party changed its name to the Social Democrats, but from 2016 again only Social Democracy is used.[10][11]

The party has the letter A as a symbol, but the abbreviation S is often used in the media. The party's classic symbol is a red rose and in recent times an A in a red circle. Aside from the classical socialist red colour,[14] the party has recently adopted a more light red colour called competition orange.[15]

The party was a member of the Labour and Socialist International between 1923 and 1940.[16] It is now a member of the Progressive Alliance, an association of progressive social-democratic parties.[17] The Social Democrats are also a member of the Party of European Socialists while the party's MEPs sit in the Socialists & Democrats group.

History

[edit]

19th century

[edit]
Socialist pioneer Louis Pio, founder and first leader of the Social Democrats (1871–1872) and 1875–1877)

The party was founded as the International Labour Association of Denmark on 15 October 1871 by Louis Pio, Harald Brix and Paul Geleff.[18] The goal was to organise the emerging working class on a democratic and socialist basis. The industrialisation of Denmark had begun in the mid-19th century and a period of rapid urbanisation had led to an emerging class of urban workers. The social-democratic movement emerged from the desire to give this group political rights and representation in the Folketing, the Danish parliament. In 1876, the party held an annual conference, adopting the first party manifesto.[19]

The stated policy was as follows:

The Danish Social Democratic Labour Party works in its national form, but is convinced of the international nature of the labour movement and ready to sacrifice everything and fulfill all obligations to provide: Freedom, equality and brotherhood among all nations.

In 1884, the party had their first two members of parliament elected, namely Peter Thygesen Holm and Chresten Hørdum.

20th century

[edit]
Thorvald Stauning, the party's first Prime Minister (1924–1926 and 1929–1942) on his 1935 Stauning or Chaos election poster

In 1906, the party created the Social Democratic Youth Association, lasting until 1920 when the Social Democratic Youth of Denmark and current party's youth wing was founded.

In the 1924 Danish Folketing election, the party won the majority with 36.6 percent of the vote and its first government was put in place with Thorvald Stauning as Prime Minister.[20] That same year, he appointed Nina Bang as the world's first female minister, nine years after women's suffrage had been given in Denmark. Stauning stayed in power until his death in 1942, with his party laying the foundations for the Danish welfare state based on a close collaboration between labor unions and the government.[21]

In January 1933, Stauning's government entered into what was then the most extensive settlement yet in Danish politics, namely the Kanslergade settlement (Danish: Kanslergadeforliget) with the liberal party Venstre.[22] The settlement was named after Stauning's apartment in Kanslergade in Copenhagen and included extensive agricultural subsidies and reforms of the legislation and administration in the social sector.[23] In 1935, Stauning was reelected with the famous slogan "Stauning or Chaos".[24]

Stauning's second cabinet lasted until the Nazi occupation of Denmark in 1940, when the cabinet was widened to include all political parties for a national unity government and the Danish government pursued a collaborative policy with the German occupiers. Through the 1940s and until 1972, most of Denmark's Prime Ministers were from the party.[25]

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen government coalition: 1993–2001

[edit]
Social Democrats election poster for the October 1945 general election

The Social Democrats' social policy through the 1990s and continuing in the 21st century involved a significant redistribution of income and the maintenance of a large state apparatus with collectively financed core public services such as public healthcare, education and infrastructure.

Social Democrats-led coalition governments (the I, II, III and IV Cabinets of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen) implemented the system known as flexicurity (flexibility and social security), mixing strong Scandinavian unemployment benefits with deregulated employment laws, making it easier for employers to fire and rehire people in order to encourage economic growth and reduce unemployment.[26][19]

The Cabinets of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen maintained a parliamentary majority during the period from 1993 to 2001 by virtue of their support from the Socialist People's Party and the Red–Green Alliance.[27]

Towards the end of the 1990s, a trade surplus of 30 billion kroner (US$4.9 billion) turned into a deficit.[citation needed] To combat this, the government increased taxes, limiting private consumption. The 1998 initiative, dubbed the Whitsun Packet (Danish: Pinsepakken) from the season it was issued, was not universally popular with the electorate; it may have also been a factor in the Social Democrats' defeat in the 2001 Danish general election.

In opposition: 2001–2011

[edit]

After being defeated by the Liberal Party in the 2001 Danish general election, the party chairmanship went to former finance and foreign minister Mogens Lykketoft. Following another defeat in the 2005 Danish general election, Lykketoft announced his resignation as party leader and at an extraordinary congress on 12 March it was decided that all members of the party would cast votes in an election of a new party leader. The two contenders for the leadership represented the two wings in the party, with Helle Thorning-Schmidt being viewed as centrist and Frank Jensen being viewed as slightly more left-leaning. On 12 April 2005, Thorning-Schmidt was elected as the new leader.[28]

Helle Thorning-Schmidt government coalition: 2011–2015

[edit]

In the 2011 Danish general election, the Social Democrats gained 44 seats in parliament, the lowest number since 1953.[29] Nonetheless, the party succeeded in establishing a minority government with the Danish Social Liberal Party and the Socialist People's Party. The incumbent centre-right coalition led by the Liberal Party lost power to a centre-left coalition led by the Social Democrats, making Thorning-Schmidt the country's first female prime minister. The Danish Social Liberal Party and the Socialist People's Party became part of the three-party centre-left coalition government. The new parliament convened on 4 October. The government rolled back anti-immigration legislation enacted by the previous government[30] and passed a tax-reform with support from the liberal-conservative opposition.[31] The tax reform raised the top tax threshold, which had previously applied to over half the working population. The aim of the tax reform was to increase labour output to fend off a projected labour shortage within the next decades. The stated goal was to entice Danes to work more in order to compensate for the decreasing workforce by lowering tax on wages and gradually lowering welfare payments to those outside of the labour market to increase the economic benefit of working relative to receiving welfare.[32]

On 3 February 2014, the Socialist People's Party left the government in protest over the sale of shares in the public energy company DONG Energy to the investment bank Goldman Sachs.[33] Because of the government's minority status and of its dependency on the support of the Danish Social Liberal Party, the government had to jettison many of the policies that the Social Democrats–Socialist People's Party coalition had given during the campaign. Although critics have accused the government of breaking its promises, other studies argue that it accomplished half of its stated goals, blaming instead poor public relations strategies for its increasingly negative public image.[34] The government pursued a centrist compromise agenda, building several reforms with support from both sides of the parliament. This caused friction with the supporting Red–Green Alliance, who were kept outside of influencing decisions.[31]

In opposition: 2015–2019

[edit]

In the 2015 Danish general election, the Social Democrats gained seats and became the biggest party in the parliament again since 2001, yet lost the government because the right-wing parties had a majority. The results of the 2015 election and the defeat of the left-bloc led Thorning-Schmidt to resign as prime minister on election night and making way for the next leader Mette Frederiksen.[35] Under Frederiksen, the Social Democrats voted in favor of a law allowing Danish authorities to confiscate money, jewellery and other valuable items refugees crossing the border may have as long as those valuables have no sentimental value,[36] despite harsh condemnation from the United Nations Human Right Council[37] and widespread comparisons between the plan and the treatment of Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe.[38] The law had been used 17 times in the first six years.[39]

Similarly, the Social Democrats voted for a law banning wearing of burqas and niqabs, while abstaining during a vote on a law on mandatory handshakes irrespective of religious sentiment at citizenship ceremonies and on a plan to house criminal asylum seekers on an island used for researching contagious animal diseases. Frederiksen has also backed the right-wing populist Danish People's Party in their paradigm shift push to make repatriation rather than social integration the goal of asylum policy. She has called for a cap on non-Western immigrants, expulsion of asylum seekers to a reception centre in North Africa and forced labour for immigrants in exchange for benefits. Labeling foreign policies of Europe as too economic liberal, Frederiksen has criticised other social democratic parties for losing their voters' trust by failing to prevent globalisation chipping away at labour rights, increasing inequality and exposing them to uncontrolled immigration.[40]

2019–present: Frederiksen I and II

[edit]
Current leader of the Social Democrats and Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen

In the 2019 Danish general election, the Social Democrats gained one further seat and the opposition red bloc of left-wing and centre-left parties (the Social Democrats, the Danish Social Liberal Party, the Socialist People's Party and the Red–Green Alliance along with the Faroese Social Democratic Party and Greenland's Inuit Ataqatigiit and Siumut) won a majority of 93 out of 179 seats in the Folketing while support for the Danish People's Party and the Liberal Alliance collapsed, costing Lars Løkke Rasmussen his majority. With the result beyond doubt on election night, Rasmussen conceded defeat and Frederiksen has been commissioned by Queen Margrethe II to lead the negotiations to form a new government.[41][42]

On 27 June 2019, Frederiksen was successful in forming the Frederiksen Cabinet, an exclusively Social Democrats minority government supported by the red bloc, becoming the second woman in the role after Thorning-Schmidt as well as the youngest prime minister in Danish history at the age of 41.[43] Despite having run on an anti-immigration stance during the election, Frederiksen shifted her stance on immigration by allowing more foreign labour and reversing government plans to hold foreign criminals offshore after winning government.[44][45][46]

Platform

[edit]

Since its foundation, the lemma of the party has been "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" and these values are still described as central in the party program. In the political program, these values are described as being consistent with a focus on solidarity with the poorest and social welfare to those who need it, with individual responsibility in relation to other members in society and with an increased involvement in the European Union project.[47]

As well as adopting more left-leaning economics, the party has become increasingly sceptical of mass immigration from a left-wing perspective in the late 2010s. The party believes that immigration has had negative impacts for much of the population, a more pressing issue since at least 2001 after the 11 September attacks which intensified during the 2015 European migrant crisis. It also returned to a more sceptical view of economic liberalism, including the view that perception of adopting the Third Way and practicing centrist, neoliberal economics, and supporting unrestricted economic globalisation contributed to its poor electoral performance in the late 2000s and early 2010s.[12][13] In a biography written before becoming the prime minister in 2019, Mette Frederiksen wrote: "For me, it is becoming increasingly clear that the price of unregulated globalisation, mass immigration and the free movement of labour is paid for by the lower classes."[48]

The party had factions that promoted anti-immigration policies since the 1980s, but it was Mette Frederiksen that completed the party's right-turn on immigration. Since then, Social Democrats have been supporting strict controls of immigration, arguing that it is integral to "a new class struggle" as it protects the national culture, rural communities and the working-class identities of Denmark.[49] The party's proposals include expulsion of asylum seekers, a cap on non-Western immigration, and a requirement for immigrants to work at least 37 hours per week before being given a right to social and welfare benefits. Social Democrats also adopted a more conservative stance on cultural diversity, supporting repatration rather than integration, postulating a ban on burqas and niqabs, and voting in favour of a law allowing Danish authorities to confiscate valuable items from refugees crossing the border.[7]

Since then, the party is described as a "left conservative" social democratic party, as it "places itself to the left on issues related to welfare and redistribution, and right on cultural and value‐related issues".[6] It has also been described as welfare chauvinist,[50] and nativist.[51] Programmaticaly, the party has been compared to the German Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance and the Dutch Socialist Party, known for their culturally conservative positions.[52]

Political leadership

[edit]

The current Party Leader is Mette Frederiksen. She succeeded Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who stepped down after the left bloc's defeat in the 2015 Danish general election. Deputy Party Leaders are Lennart Damsbo-Andersen and Christian Rabjerg Madsen. The Secretary General is Annette Lind.[53]

Prime ministers

[edit]

Leaders of the Social Democrats

[edit]
No. Portrait Leader Took office Left office Time in office
1
Louis Pio
Pio, LouisLouis Pio
(1841–1894)
187118720–1 years
2
Carl Würtz
Wurtz, CarlCarl Würtz
(1832–ca. 1873)
187218730–1 years
3
Ernst Wilhelm Klein
Klein, Ernst WilhelmErnst Wilhelm Klein
(1830–ca. 1879)
187318721–2 years
(1)
Louis Pio
Pio, LouisLouis Pio
(1841–1894)
187518771–2 years
4
Christen Hørdum
Hordum, ChristenChristen Hørdum
(1846–1911)
187718780–1 years
5
A.C. Meyer
Meyer, A CA.C. Meyer
(1858–1938)
187818780 years
6
Saxo W. Wiegell
Wiegell, Saxo WSaxo W. Wiegell
(1843–1909)
187818801–2 years
(4)
Christen Hørdum
Hordum, ChristenChristen Hørdum
(1846–1911)
188018821–2 years
7
Peter Christian Knudsen
Knudsen, Peter ChristianPeter Christian Knudsen
(1848–1910)
1882191027–28 years
8
Thorvald Stauning
Stauning, ThorvaldThorvald Stauning
(1873–1942)
1910193928–29 years
9
Hans Hedtoft
Hedtoft, HansHans Hedtoft
(1903–1955)
1939195515–16 years
10
H. C. Hansen
Hansen, H CH. C. Hansen
(1906–1960)
195519604–5 years
11
Viggo Kampmann
Kampmann, ViggoViggo Kampmann
(1910–1976)
196019621–2 years
12
Jens Otto Krag
Krag, Jens OttoJens Otto Krag
(1914–1978)
196219729–10 years
13
Anker Jørgensen
Jorgensen, AnkerAnker Jørgensen
(1922–2016)
1972198714–15 years
14
Svend Auken
Auken, SvendSvend Auken
(1943–2009)
19873 September 19924–5 years
15
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
Rasmussen, Poul NyrupPoul Nyrup Rasmussen
(born 1943)
3 September 199214 December 200210 years
16
Mogens Lykketoft
Lykketoft, MogensMogens Lykketoft
(born 1946)
14 December 200212 April 20052 years
17
Helle Thorning-Schmidt
Thorning-Schmidt, HelleHelle Thorning-Schmidt
(born 1966)
12 April 200528 June 201510 years
18
Mette Frederiksen
Frederiksen, MetteMette Frederiksen
(born 1977)
28 June 20159 years

Election results

[edit]

The Social Democrats governed Denmark for most of the 20th century, with a few intermissions such as the Conservative People's Party-led government of Poul Schlüter in the 1980s. It continued to be Denmark's largest party until 2001 when Anders Fogh Rasmussen's liberal Venstre party gained a landslide victory, becoming the largest party and forming a centre-right government. The Social Democrats returned to government from 2011 to 2015 and since 2019.

Parliament

[edit]
Folketing
Year Votes % ± pp Seats +/– Rank Result
1884 7,000 4.9 New
2 / 102
New 2nd Opposition
1887 8,000 3.5 Decrease 1.4
1 / 102
Decrease 1 Decrease 3rd Opposition
1890 17,000 7.3 Increase 3.8
3 / 102
Increase 2 Steady 3rd Opposition
1892 20,000 8.9 Increase 1.6
2 / 102
Decrease 1 Decrease 4th Opposition
1895 24,510 11.3 Increase 2.4
8 / 114
Increase 6 Steady 4th Opposition
1898 31,870 14.2 Increase 2.9
12 / 114
Increase 4 Steady 4th Opposition
1901 38,398 17.8 Increase 3.6
14 / 114
Increase 2 Increase 3rd Opposition
1903 48,117 21.0 Increase 3.2
16 / 114
Increase 2 Steady 3rd Opposition
1906 76,612 25.4 Increase 4.4
24 / 114
Increase 8 Increase 2nd Opposition
1909 93,079 29.0 Increase 3.6
24 / 114
Steady 0 Increase 1st External support
1910 98,718 28.3 Decrease 0.7
24 / 114
Steady 0 Decrease 2nd Opposition
1913 107,365 29.6 Increase 1.3
32 / 114
Increase 8 Increase 1st External support
1915 1,134 8.8 Decrease 20.8
32 / 114
Steady 0 Decrease 3rd External support
1918 262,796 28.7 Increase 19.9
39 / 140
Increase 7 Increase 2nd External support
1920
(April)
300,345 29.2 Increase 0.5
42 / 140
Increase 3 Steady 2nd Caretaker government
1920
(July)
285,166 29.8 Increase 0.6
42 / 140
Steady 0 Steady 2nd Opposition
1920
(September)
389,653 32.2 Increase 2.4
48 / 149
Increase 6 Steady 2nd Opposition
1924 469,949 36.6 Increase 4.4
55 / 149
Increase 7 Increase 1st Minority
1926 497,106 37.2 Increase 6.0
53 / 149
Decrease 2 Steady 1st Opposition
1929 593,191 41.8 Increase 4.6
61 / 149
Increase 8 Steady 1st Coalition
1932 660.839 42.7 Increase 0.9
62 / 149
Increase 1 Steady 1st Coalition
1935 759,102 46.4 Increase 3.7
68 / 149
Increase 6 Steady 1st Coalition
1939 729,619 42.9 Decrease 3.5
64 / 149
Decrease 4 Steady 1st Coalition
1943 894,632 44.5 Increase 1.6
66 / 149
Increase 2 Steady 1st Coalition
1945 671,755 32.8 Decrease 11.7
48 / 149
Decrease 18 Steady 1st Opposition
1947 836,231 41.2 Increase 8.4
57 / 150
Increase 9 Steady 1st Minority
1950 813,224 39.6 Decrease 1.6
59 / 151
Increase 2 Steady 1st Opposition
1953
(April)
836,507 40.4 Increase 0.8
61 / 151
Increase 2 Steady 1st Opposition
1953
(September)
894,913 41.3 Increase 0.9
74 / 179
Increase 13 Steady 1st Minority
1957 910,170 39.4 Increase 1.9
70 / 179
Decrease 4 Steady 1st Coalition
1960 1,023,794 42.1 Increase 2.7
76 / 179
Increase 6 Steady 1st Coalition
1964 1,103,667 41.9 Decrease 0.2
76 / 179
Steady 0 Steady 1st Minority
1966 1,068,911 38.2 Decrease 3.7
69 / 179
Decrease 7 Steady 1st Minority
1968 974,833 34.2 Decrease 4.0
62 / 179
Decrease 7 Steady 1st Opposition
1971 1,074,777 37.3 Increase 3.1
70 / 179
Increase 8 Steady 1st Minority
1973 783,145 25.6 Decrease 11.4
46 / 179
Decrease 24 Steady 1st Opposition
1975 913,155 29.9 Increase 4.0
53 / 179
Increase 7 Steady 1st Minority
1977 1,150,355 37.0 Increase 7.1
65 / 179
Increase 12 Steady 1st Minority (1977–1978)
Coalition (1978–1979)
1979 1,213,456 38.3 Increase 1.3
68 / 179
Increase 3 Steady 1st Minority
1981 1,026,726 32.9 Decrease 5.4
59 / 179
Decrease 9 Steady 1st Minority (1981–1982)
Opposition (1982–1984)
1984 1,062,561 31.6 Decrease 1.3
56 / 179
Decrease 3 Steady 1st Opposition
1987 985,906 29.3 Decrease 2.3
54 / 179
Decrease 2 Steady 1st Opposition
1988 992,682 29.8 Decrease 0.5
55 / 179
Increase 1 Steady 1st Opposition
1990 1,221,121 37.4 Increase 7.6
69 / 179
Increase 14 Steady 1st Opposition (1990–1993)
Coalition (1993–1994)
1994 1,150,048 34.6 Decrease 2.8
62 / 179
Decrease 7 Steady 1st Coalition
1998 1,223,620 35.9 Increase 1.3
63 / 179
Increase 1 Steady 1st Coalition
2001 1,003,023 29.1 Decrease 6.8
52 / 179
Decrease 11 Decrease 2nd Opposition
2005 867,350 25.8 Decrease 3.3
47 / 179
Decrease 5 Steady 2nd Opposition
2007 881,037 25.5 Decrease 0.3
45 / 179
Decrease 2 Steady 2nd Opposition
2011 879,615 24.8 Decrease 0.7
44 / 179
Decrease 1 Steady 2nd Coalition
2015 925,288 26.3 Increase 1.5
47 / 179
Increase 3 Increase 1st Opposition
2019 915,363 25.9 Decrease 0.4
48 / 179
Increase 1 Steady 1st Minority
2022 971,995 27.5 Increase 1.6
50 / 179
Increase 2 Steady 1st Coalition

Local elections

[edit]
Municipal elections
Year Seats
No. ±
1925
1,840 / 11,289
1929
1,957 / 11,329
Increase 117
1933
2,218 / 11,424
Increase 261
1937
2,496 / 11,425
Increase 278
1943
2,713 / 10,569
Increase 217
1946
2,975 / 11,488
Increase 262
1950
2,960 / 11,499
Decrease 15
1954
3,139 / 11,505
Increase 179
1958
3,023 / 11,529
Decrease 116
1962
2,196 / 11,414
Decrease 827
1966
2,638 / 10,005
Increase 442
Municipal reform
1970
1,769 / 4,677
Decrease 769
1974
1,532 / 4,735
Decrease 237
1978
1,704 / 4,759
Increase 172
1981
1,601 / 4,769
Decrease 103
1985
1,722 / 4,773
Increase 121
1989
1,753 / 4,737
Increase 31
1993
1,700 / 4,703
Decrease 53
1997
1,648 / 4,685
Decrease 52
2001
1,551 / 4,647
Decrease 97
Municipal reform
2005
900 / 2,522
Decrease 651
2009
801 / 2,468
Decrease 99
2013
773 / 2,444
Decrease 28
2017
842 / 2,432
Increase 69
2021
756 / 2,436
Decrease 86
 
Regional elections
Year Seats
No. ±
1935
85 / 299
1943
92 / 299
Increase 7
1946
94 / 299
Increase 2
1950
89 / 299
Decrease 5
1954
97 / 299
Increase 8
1958
96 / 303
Decrease 1
1962
100 / 301
Increase 4
1966
99 / 303
Decrease 1
Municipal reform
1970
162 / 366
Increase 63
1974
135 / 370
Decrease 27
1978
144 / 370
Increase 9
1981
140 / 370
Decrease 4
1985
143 / 374
Increase 3
1989
146 / 374
Increase 3
1993
136 / 374
Decrease 10
1997
136 / 374
Steady 0
2001
129 / 374
Decrease 7
Municipal reform
2005
77 / 205
Decrease 52
2009
68 / 205
Decrease 9
2013
67 / 205
Decrease 1
2017
70 / 205
Increase 3
2021
64 / 205
Decrease 6
 
Mayors
Year Seats
No. ±
2005
45 / 98
2009
49 / 98
Increase 4
2013
33 / 98
Decrease 16
2017
47 / 98
Increase 14
2021
43 / 98
Decrease 4

European Parliament elections

[edit]
European Parliament
Year List leader Votes % Seats +/– EP Group
1979 Kjeld Olesen 382,487 21.92 (#1)
3 / 16
New SOC
1984 Eva Gredal 387,098 19.45 (#3)
3 / 16
Steady 0
1989 Kirsten Jensen 417,076 23.31 (#1)
4 / 16
Increase 1
1994 329,202 15.83 (#3)
3 / 16
Decrease 1 PES
1999 Torben Lund 324,256 16.46 (#2)
3 / 16
Steady 0
2004 Poul Nyrup Rasmussen 618,412 32.65 (#1)
5 / 14
Increase 2
2009 Dan Jørgensen 503,982 21.49 (#1)
4 / 13
Decrease 1 S&D
2014 Jeppe Kofod 435,245 19.12 (#2)
3 / 13
Decrease 1
2019 592,645 21.48 (#2)
3 / 14
Steady 0
2024 Christel Schaldemose 381,125 15.57 (#2)
3 / 14
Steady 0

Representation

[edit]

Folketing

[edit]

At the 2019 election the Social Democrats won 48 seats in parliament. Henrik Sass Larsen was originally elected, but resigned his seat on 30 September 2019, after which Tanja Larsson took over his seat.[54] Ida Auken was originally elected as a member of the Socialist People's Party, but switched to the Social Democrats on 29 January 2021.[55][56]

       

European Parliament

[edit]

At the 2019 European Parliament election, the Social Democrats won three seats. The Social Democrats are part of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament.[57]

Nordic Council

[edit]

Of the 16 Danish members of the Nordic Council, four are members of the Social Democrats. The members of the Nordic Council are not elected by the public, but instead chosen by the parliamentary party groups. The Social Democrats are part of The Social Democratic Group in the Nordic Council.[58][59]

Youth wings

[edit]

The Social Democratic Youth of Denmark (Danish: Danmarks Socialdemokratiske Ungdom) is the Social Democrats' youth wing. It was founded on 8 February 1920 and is an independent organization from the Social Democrats. This allows them to formulate their own policies and make their own campaigns. Prominent Social Democrats beginning their political work in the Social Democratic Youth include prime ministers Hans Hedtoft, H. C. Hansen, Jens Otto Krag, Anker Jørgensen and Mette Frederiksen, as well as ministers Per Hækkerup and Morten Bødskov.[60][61]

Frit Forum is the Social Democrats' student organization. It was founded in 1943 in Copenhagen. It has since 1973 been organizationally part of Social Democratic Youth. Prominent members previously leading Frit Forum include prime minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and other leaders of the Social Democrats Mogens Lykketoft and Svend Auken.[62][63]

Notes

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  1. ^ Official party letter on voting ballot
  2. ^ 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.

See also

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References

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