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Danish People’s Party 'government ready': minister

The Local Denmark
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Danish People’s Party 'government ready': minister
Kristian Jensen. Photo: Claus Fisker/Scanpix

The deputy leader of Denmark’s governing Venstre (Liberal) party says that the populist Danish People’s Party (DF) is capable of participating in a coalition government.

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Jensen said that, although he was satisfied with the makeup of the current coalition – the Liberal, Liberal Alliance and Conservative parties – DF would be viable as a government party after the next general election.

Although right-wing DF, which is the largest party in the Danish parliament’s conservative bloc, has in the past kept its distance from entering government, leader Kristian Thulesen Dahl has recently softened his stance on the issue, saying that a Liberal-DF government is “the most logical”, writes news agency Ritzau.

“Yes, [DF] is [government-ready, ed.]. We negotiated with DF after the election in 2015 in regard to whether they wanted to join the government. They chose not to,” Jensen told Ritzau.

The deputy leader said the majority of Liberal party members agreed with him on the potential partnership with DF.

A survey sent by Ritzau to Liberal members of local regional councils showed that 68 percent believed DF was capable of governing with their party.

20 percent answered ‘no’ and 12 percent ‘don’t know’, according to the news agency.

“The parties voted into parliament by the people are equally good. Whether the responsibility of governing is desired is up to the party itself,” Jensen said.

Asger Møller Madsen, a councillor with Jammerbugt Municipality, told Ritzau that partnership with DF may be beneficial for the environment and agriculture.

“There are people in DF that can have a greener profile than Liberals,” he said.

Councillor Rasmus Brandstrup Larsen of Holbæk Municipality said that DF’s anti-EU stance was an obstacle to the government’s objectives.

“At the moment, I can’t see how DF could work in the government, since it is fundamentally against a close partnership with the EU,” he said.

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