Reuters
News from the NOS•
The Danes are going to the polls today in a troubled period: war in Ukraine, energy crisis, inflation and security problems. Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen poses as a safe anchor in times of crisis, but the question is whether his left bloc will win a majority.
‘Security in uncertain times’, this has become the slogan of the Social Democrats, the largest left party in the country. The important themes of these elections are care, the climate and the economy. The party’s programs are close to each other and voters are therefore expected to be guided by the question of who can best lead Denmark in uncertain times.
Sabotage of gas pipelines
Shortly before the start of the Danish election campaign a month ago, the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea were blown up. Pipes run near the Danish island of Bornholm. The sabotage was a Wake Up for the Danes, igniting the debate on security policy.
Important power and internet cables also run in the same sea. If damaged by sabotage, they can cause serious problems. According to the Danes, therefore, the seabed must be defended, also to safeguard the energy supply.
The security discussion is quite new. The threat from Russia was a sight far from my bed for many Danes, but things changed dramatically with the explosion of the gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
Discussion on the military
The Russian invasion of Ukraine also sparked a discussion about the Danish army. There have been major cuts in recent years, but it was recently decided that defense spending should be 2 percent of gross national product ten years from now. A directive agreed with NATO, of which Denmark is a member.
At the same time, the defense of the country must compete financially with health problems. Hospitals suffer from severe staff shortages and higher pay for nurses is also high on the political agenda. How the parties want to divide the money can be a deciding factor in the choice of the Danish people to vote.
The 4 million Danes can choose from fourteen parties. The biggest on the left are the Social Democrats. The Liberal Venstre Party is the party with the most members in parliament on the right. There are also a number of conservative, Christian and socialist parties.
On the right, two new parties have joined, which mainly want to limit immigration. One of these is that of the Danish Democrats, a party founded this summer by former immigration minister Inger Støjberg. He followed a strict policy. In polls, his party accounts for 7 percent of the vote.
It is difficult to predict who will become prime minister this time around because the candidates are many, unlike the previous elections: the current head of the Social Democratic government Mette Frederiksen, the liberal leader Jakob Ellemann-Jensen and the conservative leader Søren Pape Poulsen. But former prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen can also run for the premiership if he gets the decisive seats.
