The parliamentary elections were historic in several ways. No less than 12 parties in the Danish Parliament. Two of them brand new, and a miraculous political resurrection for the Alternative.
But the most historically defining feature is undoubtedly the formation of a majority government across the middle. As the SVM government completes its first 100 days, it is worth taking a look at what we can deduce so far from Denmark's first majority government since 1993.
Our head of public affairs, Thorstein Theilgaard, offers three sharp takeaways from the government's first 100 days:
#1 - Voters like the idea of a broad government more than a broad government itself
Polls during the election campaign showed solid support for the idea of a broad, cross-center government - a very large proportion of voters were almost in love with the idea. Now, 100 days after the formation of the government, the love has waned considerably.
Of course, the controversial abolition of Great Prayer Day is part of the explanation for why the love has waned a bit, but I would also venture to say that it's largely because many voters simply like the concept of broad government more than the idea as practiced in the real world.
#2 - A majority government can use its majority - but it comes with a price
The government has been heavily criticized for exploiting its majority, but in essence, there is nothing odious about using a parliamentary majority. That is the essence of politics, but the Great Day of Prayer shows that what is a strength of a majority government can also be its weakness.
In addition to the fact that the government has lost electoral support in record time, the process has also meant that cooperation with the other parties in the Folketing has gotten off to an unusually poor start.
The lesson is that a majority government can, of course, choose to use its majority, but it risks coming at a significant cooperative cost.
# 3 - We have not one but two oppositions
For decades, we have become accustomed to the idea that politics could be judged from the perspective of a red bloc and a blue bloc. If one block was in power, the other block was in opposition. It's not that simple anymore.
The Red and Blue Blocs have been put to shame (for a while?), and we therefore have not just one unified opposition, but two oppositions - in more ways than one. Obviously, there is an opposition to both the right and the left of the SVM, but in addition, there are also the outlines of opposition parties on both sides trying to define themselves as either pragmatic (e.g. SF and Liberal Alliance) or more "populist" (e.g. Enhedslisten and Nye Borgerlige).
Thorstein is the public affairs director at Holm Kommunikation and advises our clients on how to get the attention of politicians and influence the political process. Thorstein has a past as a member of the Danish Parliament for SF and has most recently been Secretary General of Bedre Psykiatri. He therefore has in-depth knowledge of the political process and a large cross-political network at Christiansborg, among others. Thorstein has a great insight into the entire healthcare sector, and he is generally up to date on most social debates. He holds an MSc in Political Science from the University of Copenhagen.