Denmark’s political parties: Your essential guide

As the election is coming up, Last Week in Denmark’s Mark Søderberg gives you an essential guide to Denmark’s political parties.

Photographs: Wikimedia Commons, ft.dk

Text: Mark Søderberg

As an international living in Denmark, it can be hard to keep track of all the political parties. Over the last decade, many new parties have formed, politicians have changed affiliations, and the current government has established a new paradigm, where centrist balance is key.

Here’s our comprehensive guide to the key policies and proposals of the parties in the Danish parliament. Each has a designated letter on the ballots, so we’ll take them in order.

Below you see the percentage distribution of the 2022 election. The electoral threshold in Denmark is 2%, so parties below this threshold do not make it into Parliament.

The results of the Danish Parliament Election 2022

A - The Social Democratic Party (Socialdemokratiet)

Established in 1871 as one of the four ‘old parties’ representing workers, they’ve frequently been in power and are chiefly responsible for the formation of the Danish welfare model. They are currently the biggest party in parliament, and regarded by some as the only party with a credible candidate for Prime Minister - Mette Frederiksen.

Key policies

• Earlier pensions for manual labourers

• Focus on vocational education

• Support Ukraine and commit 5% GDP to defence.

• Increase state surveillance

• Overall critical stance towards immigration

B - The Social Liberals (Radikale Venstre)

Another of the four ‘old parties’, they have been a key centrist party in Danish politics, historically supporting different governments. In the last election, they received a historically low number of votes, after which Martin Lidegaard became the new party leader. It currently holds 6 seats in Parliament.

Key policies

• Focus on internationals, easing entry requirements and work permits

• Wants Denmark to absorb more CO2 than it emits by 2040

• Use public-private partnerships in a green transition

• CO2 taxes and regulations on agriculture and transportation

• Lower taxes on income and businesses

• Better opportunities for employee stock options and crowdfunding

C - The Conservative People’s Party (Det Konservative Folkeparti)

Originally called The Right, they historically represented landowners and townspeople. In 2015, they received a historically low 3,8% of the votes and ever since they’ve fought to regain their former position, currently holding 10 seats in Parliament.

Key policies

• Reduce taxes on work, inheritance, cars and housing

• More police and stricter punishment

• More doctors throughout the country

• Ban smoking in schools and increase the price of cigarettes

• Create a tier system to attract foreign workers by categorizing countries into a ‘traffic light’ system.

F - The Green Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti)

Established as a reformist socialist party in 1959, they have traditionally not been a governmental party. The party has pursued a role as a party of influence under the leadership of Pia Olsen Dyhr. It currently holds 15 seats in Parliament.

Key policies

• More personnel for child care

• Free therapy for children and young adults

• Denmark should be CO2-neutral by 2040

• Reduce agriculture in designated ‘nature’ areas

• Reduce inequality with an asset tax and more corporate taxes

• Ease family reunification rules and stop sending refugees back to politically unsafe countries.

H - The Citizens’ Party (Borgernes Parti) - Lars Boje Mathiesen

The Citizens’ Party was created in January 2025 by Lars Boje Mathiesen, who remains its only member of parliament.

Key policies

• The state should play a smaller role in people’s lives

• It should be easier and cheaper to own a car

• Foreigners should be deported if they commit a crime

• Reduce taxes, bans and bureaucracy

• Introduce policies based on the principle of ‘common sense’.

I - The Liberal Alliance (Liberal Alliance)

Since Anders Samuelsen’s takeover of The New Alliance in 2009, the party has established itself as the most libertarian party in Denmark. They have gained recent popularity by utilising social media, and currently hold 15 seats in parliament.

Key policies

• Lower taxes and reduce the public sector

• Decrease social benefits

• By law, every time a law is made, two laws should be removed

• Deny citizenship to people with anti-democratic opinions

• Lower the salary threshold for work permits

• A commission should look at the possibility of using nuclear energy

M - The Moderates (Moderaterne)

The Moderates were established by Lars Løkke Rasmussen in 2022. He is currently the Foreign Minister in Mette Frederiksen’s government, having secured 12 seats in the 2022 election, and proposes centrist policies.

Key policies

• Introduced the “top-top-tax”, an additional 5% tax for people making more than 2,5 million kr. a year

• Strategies to strengthen startups through corporate tax reductions

• Wants to attract international workers by removing bureaucratic procedures for employers and introducing a nationwide union contract instead

• Wants a mandatory “civic duty” for all young people

O - The Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti)

The party was established in 1995, when Pia Kjærsgaard led a breakaway from the libertarian anti-immigration party The Progress Party. The party thrives on populist sentiment, particularly concerning Muslim immigration. The current party leader, Morten Messerschmidt, presides over a parliamentary group of 7 seats.

Key policies

• Borders should be closed to migrants and asylum seekers

• It should be much more difficult to get citizenship

• More police and tougher punishments for crime

• Better conditions for senior citizens, including a higher pension

• Opposes the EU and wants to seek alternatives

• Against “woke” ideology and cancel culture

V - The Liberal Party (Venstre)

Established in 1870 as the final of the four ‘old parties’ and originally representing farmers, the party has often led right-wing coalition governments. In recent years, they’ve experienced internal struggles and leadership issues, but are still the second largest party with 23 seats. Party leader Troels Lund Poelsen is the current Defense Minister.

Key policies

• Free access to fertility treatment for a second child

• Wants a “working duty” for foreigners to either work or study

• Seeks tougher punishments for crimes committed by foreigners

• Suggests massive investments in green growth

Æ - The Danish Democrats (Danmarksdemokraterne)

Established in 2022 by Inger Støjberg, former Minister of Integration for the Liberal Party under Lars Løkke Rasmussen. Støjberg developed harsh anti-immigration positions, and was ultimately excluded from her party after she was impeached and convicted by the Supreme Court for illegally separating couples of asylum seekers where one party was under 18. After being punished, she established a new party and it’s now Denmark’s third-largest, with 16 seats.

Key policies

• Maintain lower social benefits for asylum seekers and immigrants

• Tougher punishments for gang-related crime

• Seeking to improve conditions in rural areas

• Is strongly critical of a CO2 tax on agriculture

• Opposes the government’s establishment of solar power in Jutland

Ø - The Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten)

The Red-Green Alliance was established in 1989 as a union of the Left Socialists, the Danish Communist Party and the Socialist Workers Party. It has historically been a protest party without governmental influence, but has backed Social Democratic governments in recent years. Currently led by Pelle Dragsted, their Parliamentary group has 9 members.

Key policies

• Taxation to focus on reducing inequality

• Climate neutrality by 2040 with high CO2 taxation

• Strengthen public transport and stop fossil car sales

• Stop privatization of welfare services

• Make migration to Denmark easier

Å - The Alternative (Alternativet)

The Alternative was established in 2013 in an experimental spirit by the former Social Liberal Uffe Elbæk. The main thrust of the party was to break the so-called bloc politics - where left and right coalitions had become the only alternatives - in favor of a more pluralistic parliamentary culture, where working across the aisle was commonplace. After Elbæk left as party leader in 2019, the party has struggled with leadership and gone through a few iterations. Franciska Rosenkilde has been the party leader since 2021, and currently has 6 seats in Parliament.

Key policies

• Supports Universal Basic Income

• Wants to legalize cannabis

• Improve conditions for asylum seekers, including a de facto residence permit after 18 months of residence

• Increase taxes on real estate and financial transactions

• A differentiated corporate tax with incentives for sustainable development

• Immediate action on climate policy

North Atlantic Seats

The North Atlantic countries each get two seats in the Danish Parliament.

For Greenland, it’s Naleraq (Greenlandic independence) and Inuit Ataqatigiit (socialistic).

For the Faroe Islands it’s Sambandsfokkurin (liberal-conservative) and Javnaðarflokkurin (social democratic).

Independents

Five people in the Danish Parliament are currently outside of political parties, because they defected or were excluded from their former parties. They include:

• Peter Seier (co-founder of the terminated New Right party)

• Mike Fonseca (excluded from the Moderates following a scandal involving an underage girl)

• Teresa Scavenius (excluded from The Alternative due to personal differences)

• Jon Stephensen (excluded from the Moderates due to allegations of sexual misconduct)

• Jeppe Søe (co-founder of the Moderates, then defected).