Politics of Denmark
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Politics of Denmark takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy, whereby the prime minister is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government, with the prime minister acting as the first among equals (primus inter pares). Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Danish parliament, known as the Folketing. In the last decennia the party system is dominated by the market liberal Venstre party and the social democratic Social Democrats. The Danish Judiciary is functionally and administratively independent of the executive and the legislature.
Executive branch
Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with an almost unbroken link of monarchs for more than 1,000 years (except for an interregnum of eight years from 1332 to 1340). The current monarch, Queen Margaret II, has largely ceremonial functions; perhaps her most significant formal power lies in her right to appoint the prime minister (Statsminister) and the cabinet of Denmark, who are responsible for administration of the government. However, she must consult with parliamentary leaders to determine the public's will, since the cabinet may be dismissed by a vote of no confidence in the Folketing, the Danish parliament. Cabinet members are occasionally recruited from outside the Folketing. The vote of no confidence is an essential part of Danish parliamentary work, since the constitution states "no government can work with a majority against it", opposed to the more common international rule that says a government needs a majority for it. These rules may seem to have the same meaning, but in politics nothing is absolute, and as proof of this the Social Democrats once used this rule to form government although the liberal-conservative block was of greater number.
See also the Cabinets of Denmark and the List of Prime Ministers
Parliament
Between 1849 and 1953, the Folketing was a house of a bicameral Rigsdag, the other house being the Landsting, which was indirectly elected. However, the 1953 Constitution established a unicameral Folketing of not more than 179 members, of whom two are elected from the Faroe Islands and two from Greenland. Elections for parliament must be held at least every four years, but the prime minister can call an earlier election. Should parliament succeed in a vote of no confidence against the prime minister, the entire government resigns. The country is often run by minority governments. Folketing members are elected by a complicated system of proportional representation; any party receiving at least 2% of the total national vote receives representation. The result is a multiplicity of parties (seven currently in parliament), the largest of which received 29% of the votes (as of 2005). Electorate participation lies normally above 85%. Legislative power is vested in both the monarch and the Folketing.
Political conditions
Political life in Denmark is orderly and democratic. Political changes occur gradually through a process of consensus, and political methods and attitudes are generally moderate. Many Danish media outlets and politicians traditionally describe the political climate in Denmark as a "konsensussamfund" (society of consensus).The Social Democrats, historically identified with a well-organized labor movement but today appealing more broadly to the middle class, have held power either alone in minority cabinets or as dominant party in coalition cabinets for most of the postwar period. 1982 to 1993, and since the 2001 election Denmark has been governed by liberal-conservative coalitions – currently led by Anders Fogh Rasmussen as Prime Minister.
The vulnerability implicit in a minority coalition has been evidenced in recent coalition failure to achieve consensus on issues such as extensive reforms on matters of labor market, taxation, and the welfare system. Consensus decision-making is the most prominent feature of Danish politics. It often allows the small centrist parties to play a larger role than their size suggests and most major legislation is passed by sizeable majorities as a result. It is notable that the word "blokpolitik" (block-politics) in Danish is used to derogatively describe legislation passed by a sitting government without first seeking support from the centrist and opposition parties either through consensus or compromise.
Political parties and elections
- The following election results include names of political parties. See for additional information about parties the List of political parties in Denmark. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in Denmark.
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'''Summary of the 8 February 2005 Danish Parliament election results |- !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left colspan=2|Parties !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left|Leaders !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|% !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Seats !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|+/- |- ||align=left|Venstre (Liberals) (V) |align=left|Anders Fogh Rasmussen |align="right" |974,657 |align="right" |29.0 |align="right" |52 |align="right" |−4 |- |
|align=left|Social Democrats (Socialdemokraterne) (A) |align=left|Mogens Lykketoft |align="right" |867,933 |align="right" |25.9 |align="right" |47 |align="right" |−5 |- |
|align=left|Danish People's Party (Dansk Folkeparti) (O) |align=left|Pia Kjærsgaard |align="right" |444,205 |align="right" |13.2 |align="right" |24 |align="right" |2 |- |
|align=left|Conservative People's Party (Det Konservative Folkeparti) (C) |align=left|Bendt Bendtsen |align="right" |345,132 |align="right" |10.3 |align="right" |18 |align="right" |2 |- |
|align=left|Danish Social Liberal Party (Det Radikale Venstre) (B) |align=left|Marianne Jelved |align="right" |307,132 |align="right" |9.2 |align="right" |17 |align="right" |8 |- |
|align=left|Socialist People's Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti) (F) |align=left|Villy Søvndal |align="right" |201,162 |align="right" |6.0 |align="right" |11 |align="right" |−1 |- |
|align=left|Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten) (Ø) |align=left|Collective Leadership |align="right" |111,394 |align="right" |3.4 |align="right" |6 |align="right" |2 |- |
|align=left|Christian Democrats (Kristendemokraterne) (K) |align=left|Bodil Kornbek |align="right" |57,836 |align="right" |1.7 |align="right" |0 |align="right" |−4 |- |
|align=left|Centre Democrats (Centrum-Demokraterne) (D) |align=left|Bjarne Møgelhøj |align="right" |33,635 |align="right" |1.0 |align="right" |0 |align="right" |0 |- |
|align=left|Minority Party (Minoritetspartiet) (M) |align=left|Rune Engelbreth Larsen |align="right" |8,883 |align="right" |0.3 |align="right" |0 |align="right" |N/A |- | |align=left|Siumut (Forward) (Greenland) |align=left| |align="right" | |align="right" | |align="right" |1 |align="right" |N/A |- | |align=left|Inuit Ataqatigiit (Inuit Community) (Greenland) |align="right" | |align="right" | |align="right" | |align="right" |1 |align="right" |N/A |- | |align=left|Republican Party (Tjóðveldisflokkurin) (Faroe Islands) |align="right" | |align="right" | |align="right" | |align="right" |1 |align="right" |N/A |- | |align=left|People's Party (Fólkaflokkurin) (Faroe Islands) |align="right" | |align="right" | |align="right" | |align="right" |1 |align="right" |N/A |- |align=left colspan=2 style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|Total (Turnout 84.4 %) |align="left" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| |width="30" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| |width="30" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| |width="30" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|179 |width="30" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| |}
See also
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