Majority wants to give Danes direct voice in parliament
The Local Denmark - [email protected]
Published: 11 Apr, 2016 CET.
Updated: Mon 11 Apr 2016 08:52 CET
There is broad political support to allow Danish residents to send proposals directly to parliament if they can recruit enough fellow Danes to their cause.
News agency Ritzau reported on Monday that a proposal to give residents a direct voice in parliament has enough support to pass.
The plan would allow Danish residents to present their own proposals directly to parliament if they can gather at least 50,000 signatures.
Rasmus Nordqvist, a spokesman for The Alternative, said the plan has been under discussion since autumn.
“We have been working on how we can renew the political cultural and create more public participation. This of course won’t solve the problems of getting far more people involved in our democracy. But it is a step along the way,” Nordqvist told Ritzau.
Under the plan, any resident who can gather 50,000 signatures would then be allowed to formally present a law proposal to parliament, which would then be obligated to take up the issue.
“This is about getting the interplay between residents [and politicians] rolling,” Nordqvist said.
Mai Mercado, a spokeswoman for the Conservatives said the plan “could bring voters closer to parliament”.
“There is unfortunately a lot of disgust with politicians and it’s growing. We think that a proposal like this could help do something about the problem,” she said in a written statement.
The plan is backed by the Danish People’s Party, the Social Liberals (Radikale), the Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten), the Alternative, the Socialist People’s Party and the Conservatives.
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News agency Ritzau reported on Monday that a proposal to give residents a direct voice in parliament has enough support to pass.
The plan would allow Danish residents to present their own proposals directly to parliament if they can gather at least 50,000 signatures.
Rasmus Nordqvist, a spokesman for The Alternative, said the plan has been under discussion since autumn.
“We have been working on how we can renew the political cultural and create more public participation. This of course won’t solve the problems of getting far more people involved in our democracy. But it is a step along the way,” Nordqvist told Ritzau.
Under the plan, any resident who can gather 50,000 signatures would then be allowed to formally present a law proposal to parliament, which would then be obligated to take up the issue.
“This is about getting the interplay between residents [and politicians] rolling,” Nordqvist said.
Mai Mercado, a spokeswoman for the Conservatives said the plan “could bring voters closer to parliament”.
“There is unfortunately a lot of disgust with politicians and it’s growing. We think that a proposal like this could help do something about the problem,” she said in a written statement.
The plan is backed by the Danish People’s Party, the Social Liberals (Radikale), the Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten), the Alternative, the Socialist People’s Party and the Conservatives.
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