The Local’s party guide: Conservatives
Keep confusing the Danish political parties with their Borgen equivalents? The Local's political party guide separates fact from fiction. This segment: the Conservatives
Leader: Søren Pape Poulsen
The Conservatives (Konservative Folkeparti) is an old party that has struggled to find a unique profile for itself in modern Danish politics. It was founded in 1915 but had its glory days in the 1980s and early 90s, when the Conservatives held the reins of government with a variety of junior coalition partners. From 2001-2011, the party was the junior partner to Venstre.
Since then, the party has been in decline. A common observation about the Conservatives is that it has failed in recent times to distinguish itself within the blue bloc. Its current leader, Søren Pape Poulsen, has sought to rectify this by running a campaign in the ongoing election heavily focused on increasing resources to fight crime – in a country where 98 percent of its population feels that it is a safe place to live, according to a recent Eurobarometer survey.
The Conservatives also attempted to beat the Danish People's Party at its own game in April by rolling out a much-discussed advertising campaign that included posters bearing the slogan ‘Stop Nazi Islamism’.
See also: Danish Conservatives go after 'Nazi Islamism'
Core campaign issues
As with Venstre, the Conservatives argue that Danes need more economic incentives to get out of unemployment, and that the country needs to be more business-friendly.
Their proposed solutions revolve around lowering taxes both for workers and businesses and lending more support to startups.
As mentioned, they also want to see more investments in the police to ensure that precincts have the capacity to investigate all reported crimes. That's an area that has recently become increasingly relevant, with officers speaking out about being overworked and undermanned to the point where it affects their basic police work.
Current representation in parliament: 8 mandates (4.9 percent of the vote)
Expected after this election (as per a June 11 Epinion survey): 5 mandates (3.2 percent of the vote)
Comments
See Also
Leader: Søren Pape Poulsen
The Conservatives (Konservative Folkeparti) is an old party that has struggled to find a unique profile for itself in modern Danish politics. It was founded in 1915 but had its glory days in the 1980s and early 90s, when the Conservatives held the reins of government with a variety of junior coalition partners. From 2001-2011, the party was the junior partner to Venstre.
Since then, the party has been in decline. A common observation about the Conservatives is that it has failed in recent times to distinguish itself within the blue bloc. Its current leader, Søren Pape Poulsen, has sought to rectify this by running a campaign in the ongoing election heavily focused on increasing resources to fight crime – in a country where 98 percent of its population feels that it is a safe place to live, according to a recent Eurobarometer survey.
The Conservatives also attempted to beat the Danish People's Party at its own game in April by rolling out a much-discussed advertising campaign that included posters bearing the slogan ‘Stop Nazi Islamism’.
See also: Danish Conservatives go after 'Nazi Islamism'
Core campaign issues
As with Venstre, the Conservatives argue that Danes need more economic incentives to get out of unemployment, and that the country needs to be more business-friendly.
Their proposed solutions revolve around lowering taxes both for workers and businesses and lending more support to startups.
As mentioned, they also want to see more investments in the police to ensure that precincts have the capacity to investigate all reported crimes. That's an area that has recently become increasingly relevant, with officers speaking out about being overworked and undermanned to the point where it affects their basic police work.
Current representation in parliament: 8 mandates (4.9 percent of the vote)
Expected after this election (as per a June 11 Epinion survey): 5 mandates (3.2 percent of the vote)
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.