Denmark
John Nielsen
Despite being one of the first countries to sign the UN Refugee Convention, Denmark has also been a frequent first-mover on harsh immigration policies in Europe. An increasing number of political parties – not all of them right-wing or nationalist – across Europe point to the “Danish model” as an example of successful migration and asylum policy. Even Sweden – once seen as a more humane counterpoint – is now copying Danish policies in detail. In reality, the “Danish model” would not work if copied by other ...
read more "Why Europe should avoid modelling its migration policy on Denmark"
read more "Why Europe should avoid modelling its migration policy on Denmark"
IMAGO/Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg
Record results for (Centre-)Left parties in the Nordic countries, with far-right parties losing ground. Denmark, Finland and Sweden surprised during the European elections with results that seemed to contradict the political drift in much of the rest of Europe. While this is a ‘ray of hope’ to many on the progressive spectrum, do these results really signify the development of a countertrend? And what might be the implications in the mid-term? The Rosa-Luxemburg’s Foundation’s Ada Regelmann gives a sober...
read more "More than just an electoral upwind? Nordic left-wing parties after the EU elections"
read more "More than just an electoral upwind? Nordic left-wing parties after the EU elections"
IMAGO / Ritzau Scanpix
The MeToo movement got off to a slow start in Denmark, with the initial conversation focusing as much on the movement’s legitimacy as on understanding and tackling the problem. Only when the public’s TV darling Sofie Linde shared her own experiences, and a substantial number of media professionals and young politicians teamed up, did the movement gain strength.
A handful of prominent cases has since led to contract terminations for male individuals and to in-depth scrutiny internally in numerous companies and work branches, to ...
read more "#OneOfUs – MeToo and the myth of gender-equal Denmark"
read more "#OneOfUs – MeToo and the myth of gender-equal Denmark"
Event ReportOn 8-9 June 2023 the Brussels Office of the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung (RLS) hosted a workshop in Malmö to facilitate the exchange of experiences and strategies between several left-wing parties grappling with the issue of security policy, particularly in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The event was held face-to-face and invitation-only to guarantee an atmosphere of trust and confidentiality to participants.
The workshop brought together 20 party activists and decision-makers from the political left in Sweden, ...
read more "“Security and the Left” – Impact Workshop"
read more "“Security and the Left” – Impact Workshop"
In June 2022, the Brussels Office of Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung hosted a workshop in Copenhagen to better understand and compare the central issues, experiences and strategies of left-wing parties’ participation in, or support of, governments in the region. The event was face-to-face and by-invitation only to guarantee an atmosphere of trust and confidentiality to participants.
The workshop brought together 30 party activists and decision-makers from among the political left in Sweden, Denmark and Germany.[1] Participation ...
read more "Impact workshop: “The Left in Power”, Copenhagen 9-10 June"
read more "Impact workshop: “The Left in Power”, Copenhagen 9-10 June"
Denmark’s radical left party, the Red Green Alliance, is in a spin. At the November 1 general election, it lost a quarter of its support, a third of its seats, and its influence with government. Alongside the immediate financial and political ramifications, the result has opened up both internal and public debate on what went wrong and why – exposing strategic disagreements over the party’s direction.
This was the Red Green Alliance’s (RGA) third electoral retreat in a row, following the 2019 national election and last year’s municipal vote. The party ...
read more "Denmark’s left in crisis?"
read more "Denmark’s left in crisis?"
The Danish election of 1 November 2022 was truly historic: consolidated parties have fallen from grace, new ones have stormed into parliament, and never before have so many voters shifted their alliances between parties in the months leading up to the election.
Entering the voting booth last Tuesday, Danish voters were presented with no less than fourteen different parties to choose from. New parties on the right presented old populist positions, but with a more popular visage. Led by well-known politicians, these parties have matched different policies ...
read more "Denmark 2022: A landslide election"
read more "Denmark 2022: A landslide election"
On November 1, Denmark will vote, seven months ahead of schedule. Polls show left and right blocs almost neck-and-neck, and the risk of an outright win for the right-wing remains real. However, with Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen seeking to hold onto power through an unlikely coalition across the middle, a rightwards shift seems inevitable.
The early election was called when the Social Liberals, one of three smaller parties propping up the Social Democrat minority government, threatened a no-confidence motion ...
read more "Denmark to hold early elections as Social Democrats move right"
read more "Denmark to hold early elections as Social Democrats move right"
Duroyan Fertl interviews Line BarfodOn September 9, the 2023 budget for the City of Copenhagen was agreed in historic circumstances. For the first time in a century, Denmark’s Social Democratic Party – which has long treated Copenhagen as its crown jewel – was outside the deal. Instead, radical left party Enhedslisten (the “Red-Green Alliance”) took the lead in budget negotiations, delivering robust funding for social welfare and the climate, with support from parties of the centre, right and even far-right.
In ...
read more "Historic Copenhagen budget leaves Social Democrats out in the cold"
read more "Historic Copenhagen budget leaves Social Democrats out in the cold"
Duroyan Fertl interviews Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, Member of the Danish Parliament for Inuit AtaqatigiitIn Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), the radical left party, Inuit Ataqatigiit (‘Community of the People’) won a landslide election last year, taking 37 percent of the vote and 12 of the 31 seats in the Inatsisartut (Greenlandic parliament). The past year has proved difficult, however, leading to a change in coalition partners. Meanwhile the country faces multiple challenges, balancing economic development and social justice with...
read more "“We need to collaborate with Denmark, but in a more equal way”"
read more "“We need to collaborate with Denmark, but in a more equal way”"