It's election time in Denmark. Finally, we can install a more left-wing government. Victory to the reds!
Request: Short report on the major political parties involved
Optional: Polling data
I'll try and see what I can do later today once I get back from uni.
Just a short story about the political struggle is fine, thank you 
I'm back, here's how I see it:
Blue/right wing block: Built by "Venstre(
V)", a massive liberal party, "Det konservative folkeparti(
C)", another right-wing liberal party. These two parties currently provide the backbone of government.
Collaborating with the government is "Dansk Folkeparti(
O)", a much more conservative party with focus on stopping immigration to Denmark and preserving Denmark's culture. While it is not as mandate-rich as
V and
C, it has in tandem with
V and
C provided the government, and through the collaboration gotten a lot of its politicies through.
Another right wing party, possibly the most right wing, is "Liberal Alliance(
I)", which is a sort of free-floater. It doesn't hold, and doesn't look to hold, much in terms of mandates, but it provides a bit and is staunchly for lowering the taxes etc.
On the left wing is "Socialdemokratiet(
A)" and "Socialistisk Folkeparti(
F)", both moderately left wing. These are the two parties that are looking to take over government in collaberation, to kick out
V and
C. It should be noted that
A is the largest party, with Helle Thorning Schmidt, a woman, as leader. All odds are pointing towards Denmark's first female minister of state.
On the far, far left is "Enhedslisten(
Ø)" which is a somewhat mirror equivalent to
I, except it is much further to the left than
I is to the right.
Ø is known for coming with ridiculous and unrealistic proposals to problems, with the entire purpose to polarise the debate further left. For instance, iirc, in order to try and get Denmark to move further towards green energy, they made a push towards having 100% of Denmark be powered by pure, renewable energy (windmills etc.) by I think 2020. They do not hold, and do not look to hold, enough mandates to make a serious difference, however in the case of a red government they will likely collaborate and try to push compromises leading further left.
In the middle between the current government of
V and
C and the primary opposition of
A and
F is "Det Radikale Venstre(
B)", which is a medium-mandate party increasing in power, as a lot of voters borderlining into
V and
C previously are now moving to
B. These are probably going to collaborate together with
A and
F to form the red government after the election, although because of their position in the center between blue and red, they are likely going to make a lot of demands leading further right.
And finally, and probably least significant, is "Kristendemokraterne(
K)". Last election they achieved no mandates so they really don't do anything. They're still
there though.
So, about the switch from blue to red: As mentioned,
V and
C have formed the backbone of government the last 10 or so years, with
O and sometimes
B pitching in to provide majority. However, due to the financial crisis there have been a lot of concern regarding the government's choices, and the criticism has been hailing down from
A,
F and
Ø. There's constant banter going between the two blocks, both accusing eachother of leading unfunded financial policies, while their own is completely funded. However, seeing as the situation is just getting worse and worse, faith is being lost in the government, and this week the government posed next year's financial plan, scoring a massive deficit (actually a deficit under EU's standards). It's becoming clear that whatever the government is doing is not working, and so now voters are shifting towards the more red parties.
V and
C are likely going to drop out of government to form the new opposition with
O and
I, while
A and
F step in.
A and
F will likely require the support of the increasing
B in order to provide the majority, with
Ø helping along a bit.
I don't have exact polling stats, but last I heard on the news it was 56% estimated for the red block and 44% for the blue.
What should also be noted is the extent of left and right wing in Denmark:
I, which is one of the bluer parties, have stated it as their ultimate goal to lower the income taxes all the way down to 40%, as well as cutting on corporate taxes and others.
Ø, which is the far lefternmost party, are hardcore socialists. They're not actual communists, but they believe in very high taxes and very high welfare.
Sorry for all the bolded letters, but there are a lot of parties to keep track and it's easier that way. Despite the norwegian sketch of the danish parties, saying they are many and oddly named, I think it's only a great thing to have such a diversity, and not a completely polar system like for instance in the USA.
And also, to comment a bit on the "Oddly named" parties: Venstre in danish means "left". The current right-wing party holding government is called left, and the medium sized in-between-the-two-blocks party "Det radikale Venstre" is called the radical left.
Author
Topic: [MILK] There were 12 eggs here what did you do with them? (Happy thread?!) (Read 16325841 times)