Danish Conservative leader faces questions despite party support
The Danish Conservatives on Saturday expressed unanimous support for chairman Søren Pape Poulsen despite the very disappointing election result on November 1st.
The Danish Conservative party expressed unanimous support for chairman Søren Pape Poulsen on Saturday, despite a very disappointing election result on November 1st.
It seems that Pape has weathered the storm for the time being. That is the opinion of political commentator Hans Engell, "but whether he is the leading conservative candidate in four years can probably be questioned," he says.
Engell points out that Pape and the Conservatives are currently in the process of negotiating with acting Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen about the possibility of entering into a broad coalition government that stretches across the Danish political spectrum, an idea that Pape categorically refused to consider during the election campaign.
After the election, however, he has opened up to the possibility of a broad government.
READ ALSO: Danish government: Rasmussen backs coalition with traditional rivals
"The Conservatives could theoretically be in a government in a month. It is clear that during that phase, the party always gives support to its leading figures," Engell says. "But of course, this does not mean that the critics and those who wanted a more thorough analysis are completely silent."
No obvious successor
Engell points out that there is currently no obvious successor to Pape. The leadership of the Conservatives gathered at Egelund Castle in North Zealand on Saturday to discuss the result of the general election.
When Pape announced his candidacy for Prime Minister on August 15th, support for the Conservatives increased significantly. Barely a week later, the party had the support of 16.5 percent of the voters in an opinion poll by the analysis institute Voxmeter.
However, there followed a series of personal stories surrounding Pape's private life and political judgment, and in the end, the Conservatives ended up with just 5.5 percent of the vote in the election.
Engell points out that the issues that the Conservatives focused on did not manage to set the tone of the election campaign. This applies to, among other things, the mink case and tax breaks.
"Many of the topics they ran on did not affect the electorate at all," Engell pointed out.
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The Danish Conservative party expressed unanimous support for chairman Søren Pape Poulsen on Saturday, despite a very disappointing election result on November 1st.
It seems that Pape has weathered the storm for the time being. That is the opinion of political commentator Hans Engell, "but whether he is the leading conservative candidate in four years can probably be questioned," he says.
Engell points out that Pape and the Conservatives are currently in the process of negotiating with acting Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen about the possibility of entering into a broad coalition government that stretches across the Danish political spectrum, an idea that Pape categorically refused to consider during the election campaign.
After the election, however, he has opened up to the possibility of a broad government.
READ ALSO: Danish government: Rasmussen backs coalition with traditional rivals
"The Conservatives could theoretically be in a government in a month. It is clear that during that phase, the party always gives support to its leading figures," Engell says. "But of course, this does not mean that the critics and those who wanted a more thorough analysis are completely silent."
No obvious successor
Engell points out that there is currently no obvious successor to Pape. The leadership of the Conservatives gathered at Egelund Castle in North Zealand on Saturday to discuss the result of the general election.
When Pape announced his candidacy for Prime Minister on August 15th, support for the Conservatives increased significantly. Barely a week later, the party had the support of 16.5 percent of the voters in an opinion poll by the analysis institute Voxmeter.
However, there followed a series of personal stories surrounding Pape's private life and political judgment, and in the end, the Conservatives ended up with just 5.5 percent of the vote in the election.
Engell points out that the issues that the Conservatives focused on did not manage to set the tone of the election campaign. This applies to, among other things, the mink case and tax breaks.
"Many of the topics they ran on did not affect the electorate at all," Engell pointed out.
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