Denmark gets the greenest government ever, sounded after it emerged on Monday evening that there will finally be a new Danish government. After more than two months, it was announced on Monday evening that a centre-left coalition was being formed. Never before has it taken so long in Denmark – 69 days – for an agreement to be reached. More will be released about the ministerial positions on Wednesday, but for now it is only known that Mette Frederiksen of the Social Democrats will become prime minister again. Her party had become the largest despite a historically major loss.
“It is a government agreement that is good for the people of Denmark, for generations to come – and also for the animals,” said Frederiksen after the news came out. Animal welfare – and especially the fate of the pig – was an important election theme last March. Denmark is one of the largest pig exporters in the world and the pesticide-contaminated groundwater is largely caused by those pig farms. As far as the new government is concerned, the number of pigs in Denmark must be reduced and farms will in principle only focus on domestic consumption and no longer on export. Tail cuts are also banned. Not all climate plans are known yet, but the CO2emissions will be significantly reduced and there will be a ban on pesticides, according to the Danish newspaper Politicians that has access to the draft version.
Tensions around Greenland
Other points of discussion were migration and the retirement age. Denmark already has one of the strictest asylum laws. The previous government’s plans to deport non-Danish criminals serving at least one year in prison continue – regardless of their ties to Denmark and their country of origin. Last year, the Danish parliament decided to increase the retirement age to 70 from 2040. For the time being, it appears to be heading towards a “more flexible end to working life”.
More money is also going to defense. The Danish armed forces will need more drones, conscripts and reservists. “We must be able to defend ourselves against – and use – unmanned systems and long-range precision weapons, as well as data solutions with artificial intelligence and quantum technology,” the draft states. Politicians.
The tensions around Greenland were reason for Fredriksen to bring forward the elections. “The Commonwealth – and not the US – decides the future of Greenland,” the draft says, with a slight sneer at the imperialism of US President Donald Trump. Nothing in international relations about Greenland or the Faroe Islands should be decided without them. The Inuit Ataqatigiit, the party that represents Greenland in the Danish parliament, has approved the draft version and indicated that it is also pleased with the plans for investments in housing and infrastructure, among other things, and the focus on submarine cable connections.
Wealth tax
The parties participating in the minority government are, in addition to the Social Democrats (38 seats), the Socialist People’s Party (SF, 20 seats), the social-liberal Radikale Venstre (10 seats) and Moderaterne (Moderates, 14 seats). The four parties together have 82 of the 179 seats in parliament. The Red-Green Alliance (11 seats) offers tolerating support. Governments in Denmark usually form a minority cabinet, because parliament works with two blocs: red and blue – in other words, a left-wing and a right-wing alliance. Both blocs did not have a majority to support a government after the elections, and were therefore dependent on the Moderates, the party led by former Prime Minister and current Minister of Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
Rasmussen was the pivotal figure in the formation that took so long. After Frederiksen was initially tasked with forming a new government, Rasmussen pulled the plug on the consultation after weeks and wanted to try it on the right. He disagreed with her economic plans. For example, Frederiksen wanted to introduce a wealth tax of 0.5 percent on individual assets of at least 25 million kroner (3.4 million euros) because, just like in the Netherlands, wealth inequality has increased. That doesn’t seem to be happening yet, according to Politicians the Moderates have gotten their way in lowering corporate taxes and abolishing the ‘top tax’.
However, the talks with the right-wing bloc quickly collapsed, because Rasmussen found even fewer similarities with the radical right Danish People’s Party. The question is also whether Rasmussen did not want more time before joining a left-wing government. “The raison d’être of the Moderates is to keep extreme parties out of government, and that is exactly what they would give up if they governed with the radical right,” says Rune Stubager, professor of political science at Aarhus University.
The leaders of the four coalition parties.
Photo MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN ANP / EPA
He sees the Moderates getting their tax cuts, the Red-Green Alliance, for example, making dental care free and SF the likely rollback of a canceled national holiday. “When a new government takes office, you usually see interesting attempts to turn a circle into a square,” says Stubager with a laugh. “The new coalition is taking one or two steps to the left, and it also seems to be getting a bit greener, but there is great consensus on many issues.”
The professor points to the Danish concept ‘forlig’, that can be translated as settlement or compromise. “Coalition and opposition parties constantly make agreements on specific issues, which means that there is a majority during the elections that you as a party cannot simply withdraw from.” Folketingthe Danish parliament, now has more than a hundred forligs. That brings continuity, but also problems. “Parties must still be able to distinguish themselves,” says Stubager.
Although her previous government was punished by voters, Prime Minister Fredriksen still enjoys a “quite strong” position in her party, Stubager believes. She is the first woman to lead three Danish cabinets, and because she has been prime minister since 2019, she is a veteran in Europe, and that “gives her a certain status.”
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