TheSocial Democrats (Danish:Socialdemokratiet[soˈɕɛˀlte̝moˌkʰʁɑˀtɪət],lit. 'The Social Democracy',S) is asocial democratic[8][9]political party in Denmark. A member of theParty of European Socialists, the Social Democrats have 50 out of 179 members of the Danish parliament (following thelatest Danish general election held in 2022),Folketing, and three out of fourteenMEPs elected from Denmark.
Founded byLouis Pio in 1871, the party first entered theFolketing in the1884 Danish Folketing election. By the early 20th century, it had become the party with the largest representation in the Folketing, a distinction it would hold for 77 years. It first formed a government after the1924 Danish Folketing election underThorvald Stauning, the longest-servingDanish Prime Minister of the 20th century. During Stauning's government which lasted until the1926 Danish Folketing election, the Social Democrats exerted a profound influence onDanish society, laying the foundation of the Danishwelfare state. From 2002 to 2016, the party used the nameSocialdemokraterne in some contexts.[12] The party was a member of theLabour and Socialist International from 1923 to 1940. A member of theSocialist International until 2017, the party withdrew to join theProgressive Alliance, founded in 2013.
The party was themajor coalition partner in government from the2011 Danish general election until the2015 Danish general election, with then-party leaderHelle Thorning-Schmidt asPrime Minister. After losing power in the 2015 election, Thorning-Schmidt was succeeded as party leader on 28 June 2015 by the former Vice LeaderMette Frederiksen, who shifted the party back to thepolitical left on economics, while criticising massimmigration.[13][14] Frederiksen led the party to win the2019 and2022 Danish general election, forminga single-party minority government from 2019 to 2022 anda majority grand-coalition government with the centre-rightVenstre and the centristModerates since 2022.
The party traces its own history back to the International Labour Association, founded in 1871 and banned in 1873, loosely re-organised in the Social Democratic Labour Party which in 1876 issued the Gimle program, but as a formal political party it was first founded from 11–12 February 1878 as theSocial Democratic Federation. This name was formally carried by the party for almost a hundred years, although in practice it also used a number of other names until it changed its name to Social Democracy in 1965. At a congress inAalborg in 2002, the party changed its name to the Social Democrats, but from 2016 again only Social Democracy is used.[10][11]
The party has the letterA as a symbol, but the abbreviationS is often used in the media. The party's classic symbol is ared rose and in recent times anA in a red circle. Aside from the classical socialistred colour,[15] the party has recently adopted a more light red colour calledcompetition orange.[16]
The party was a member of theLabour and Socialist International between 1923 and 1940.[17] It is now a member of theProgressive Alliance, an association of progressive social-democratic parties.[18] The Social Democrats are also a member of theParty of European Socialists while the party'sMEPs sit in theSocialists & Democrats group.
The party was founded as the International Labour Association of Denmark on 15 October 1871 byLouis Pio,Harald Brix andPaul Geleff.[19] The goal was to organise the emergingworking class on ademocratic and socialist basis. Theindustrialisation of Denmark had begun in the mid-19th century and a period of rapidurbanisation had led to an emerging class ofurban workers. The social-democratic movement emerged from the desire to give this grouppolitical rights andrepresentation in theFolketing, the Danishparliament. In 1876, the party held an annual conference, adopting the first party manifesto.[20]
The stated policy was as follows:
The Danish Social Democratic Labour Party works in its national form, but is convinced of the international nature of the labour movement and ready to sacrifice everything and fulfill all obligations to provide: Freedom, equality and brotherhood among all nations.
In 1884, the party had their first two members of parliament elected, namelyPeter Thygesen Holm andChresten Hørdum.
In 1906, the party created the Social Democratic Youth Association, lasting until 1920 when theSocial Democratic Youth of Denmark and current party'syouth wing was founded.
In the1924 Danish Folketing election, the party won the majority with 36.6 percent of the vote and its first government was put in place withThorvald Stauning asPrime Minister.[21] That same year, he appointedNina Bang as the world's first female minister, nine years afterwomen's suffrage had been given in Denmark. Stauning stayed in power until his death in 1942, with his party laying the foundations for the Danishwelfare state based on a close collaboration between labor unions and the government.[22]
In January 1933, Stauning's government entered into what was then the most extensive settlement yet inDanish politics, namely theKanslergade settlement (Danish:Kanslergadeforliget) with the liberal partyVenstre.[23] The settlement was named after Stauning's apartment in Kanslergade inCopenhagen and included extensiveagricultural subsidies and reforms of the legislation and administration in the social sector.[24] In 1935, Stauning was reelected with the famous slogan "Stauning or Chaos".[25]
Stauning's second cabinet lasted until theNazioccupation of Denmark in 1940, when the cabinet was widened to include all political parties for anational unity government and the Danish government pursued a collaborative policy with the German occupiers. Through the 1940s and until 1972, most ofDenmark's Prime Ministers were from the party.[26]
The Social Democrats'social policy through the 1990s and continuing in the 21st century involved a significantredistribution of income and the maintenance of a large state apparatus with collectively financed corepublic services such aspublic healthcare,education andinfrastructure.
Social Democrats-led coalition governments (theI,II,III andIV Cabinets ofPoul Nyrup Rasmussen) implemented the system known asflexicurity (flexibility and social security), mixing strong Scandinavianunemployment benefits with deregulated employment laws, making it easier for employers to fire and rehire people in order to encourageeconomic growth and reduce unemployment.[27][20]
The Cabinets of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen maintained a parliamentary majority during the period from 1993 to 2001 by virtue of their support from theSocialist People's Party and theRed–Green Alliance.[28]
Towards the end of the 1990s, atrade surplus of 30 billionkroner (US$4.9 billion) turned into adeficit.[citation needed] To combat this, the government increased taxes, limitingprivate consumption. The 1998 initiative, dubbed the Whitsun Packet (Danish:Pinsepakken) from the season it was issued, was not universally popular with the electorate; it may have also been a factor in the Social Democrats' defeat in the2001 Danish general election.
After being defeated by theLiberal Party in the 2001 Danish general election, the party chairmanship went to formerfinance andforeign ministerMogens Lykketoft. Following another defeat in the2005 Danish general election, Lykketoft announced his resignation as party leader and at an extraordinary congress on 12 March it was decided that all members of the party would cast votes in an election of a new party leader. The two contenders for the leadership represented the two wings in the party, withHelle Thorning-Schmidt being viewed ascentrist andFrank Jensen being viewed as slightly moreleft-leaning. On 12 April 2005, Thorning-Schmidt was elected as the new leader.[29]
In the2011 Danish general election, the Social Democrats gained 44 seats in parliament, the lowest number since 1953.[30] Nonetheless, the party succeeded in establishing a minority government with theDanish Social Liberal Party and theSocialist People's Party. The incumbent centre-right coalition led by theLiberal Party lost power to a centre-left coalition led by the Social Democrats, making Thorning-Schmidt the country's first female prime minister. The Danish Social Liberal Party and the Socialist People's Party became part of the three-party centre-left coalition government. The new parliament convened on 4 October. The government rolled back anti-immigration legislation enacted by the previous government[31] and passed a tax-reform with support from the liberal-conservative opposition.[32] The tax reform raised the top tax threshold, which had previously applied to over half the working population. The aim of the tax reform was to increase labour output to fend off a projected labour shortage within the next decades. The stated goal was to entice Danes to work more in order to compensate for the decreasing workforce by lowering tax on wages and gradually lowering welfare payments to those outside of the labour market to increase the economic benefit of working relative to receiving welfare.[33]
On 3 February 2014, the Socialist People's Party left the government in protest over the sale of shares in the public energy companyDONG Energy to the investment bankGoldman Sachs.[34] Because of the government's minority status and of its dependency on the support of the Danish Social Liberal Party, the government had to jettison many of the policies that the Social Democrats–Socialist People's Party coalition had given during the campaign. Although critics have accused the government of breaking its promises, other studies argue that it accomplished half of its stated goals, blaming instead poor public relations strategies for its increasingly negative public image.[35] The government pursued a centrist compromise agenda, building several reforms with support from both sides of the parliament. This caused friction with the supporting Red–Green Alliance, who were kept outside of influencing decisions.[32]
In the2015 Danish general election, the Social Democrats gained seats and became the biggest party in the parliament again since 2001, yet lost the government because the right-wing parties had a majority. The results of the 2015 election and the defeat of the left-bloc led Thorning-Schmidt to resign as prime minister on election night and making way for the next leaderMette Frederiksen.[36] Under Frederiksen, the Social Democrats voted in favor of a law allowing Danish authorities to confiscate money, jewellery and other valuable items refugees crossing the border may have as long as those valuables have no sentimental value,[37] despite harsh condemnation from theUnited Nations Human Right Council[38] and widespread comparisons between the plan and the treatment ofJews inNazi-occupied Europe.[39] The law had been used 17 times in the first six years.[40]
Similarly, the Social Democrats voted fora law banning wearing ofburqas andniqabs, while abstaining during a vote on a law on mandatory handshakes irrespective of religious sentiment at citizenship ceremonies and on a plan to house criminalasylum seekers on an island used for researching contagious animal diseases. Frederiksen has also backed the right-wing populistDanish People's Party in their paradigm shift push to makerepatriation rather thansocial integration the goal of asylum policy. She has called for a cap on non-Western immigrants, expulsion of asylum seekers to a reception centre in North Africa and forced labour for immigrants in exchange for benefits. Labeling foreign policies of Europe as tooeconomic liberal, Frederiksen has criticised other social democratic parties for losing their voters' trust by failing to prevent globalisation chipping away at labour rights, increasing inequality and exposing them to uncontrolled immigration.[41]
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In the2019 Danish general election, the Social Democrats gained one further seat and the opposition red bloc ofleft-wing andcentre-left parties (the Social Democrats, the Danish Social Liberal Party, the Socialist People's Party and the Red–Green Alliance along with theFaroeseSocial Democratic Party andGreenland'sInuit Ataqatigiit andSiumut) won a majority of 93 out of 179 seats in the Folketing while support for theDanish People's Party and theLiberal Alliance collapsed, costingLars Løkke Rasmussen his majority. With the result beyond doubt on election night, Rasmussen conceded defeat and Frederiksen has been commissioned byQueen Margrethe II to lead the negotiations to form a new government.[42][43]
On 27 June 2019, Frederiksen was successful in forming theFrederiksen Cabinet, an exclusively Social Democrats minority government supported by the red bloc, becoming the second woman in the role after Thorning-Schmidt as well as the youngest prime minister in Danish history at the age of 41.[44] Despite having run on ananti-immigration stance during the election, Frederiksen shifted her stance on immigration by allowing more foreign labour and reversing government plans to hold foreign criminals offshore after winning government.[45][46][47]
Since its foundation, the motto of the party has been "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" and these values are still described as central in the party program. In the political program, these values are described as being consistent with a focus on solidarity with the poorest and social welfare to those who need it, with individual responsibility in relation to other members in society and with an increased involvement in theEuropean Union project.[48]
As well as adopting moreleft-leaning economics, the party has become increasingly sceptical ofimmigration from the late 2010s. The party believes that immigration has had negative consequences for much of the population, a more pressing issue since at least 2001 after the11 September attacks which intensified during the2015 European migrant crisis. It also returned to a more sceptical view ofeconomic liberalism, arguing that its adherence toThird Way politics, its application ofcentrist,neoliberal economics, and supporting unrestrictedeconomic globalisation contributed to the party's poor electoral performance in the late 2000s and early 2010s.[13][14]
The party is described as anti-globalization, anti-immigrant, and critical of Islam. According to the party, Muslim immigrants do not respect the Danish judicial system, Muslim women abstain from working for religious reason, and they are also subject to "massive social control" in their immigrant communities.[49] In a biography written before becoming the prime minister in 2019,Mette Frederiksen wrote: "For me, it is becoming increasingly clear that the price of unregulated globalisation, mass immigration and the free movement of labour is paid for by the lower classes."[50] Frederiksen combined opposition to immigration and support forsocial cohesion with criticism ofglobalization, wealth inequality and erosion of workers' rights.[51] EconomistMark Blyth wrote that under Frederiksen, the Danish Social Democrats have "torn up the neoliberal rule book" in favor of combining increased government spending with immigration controls.[52]
The party had factions that promoted anti-immigration policies since the 1980s, but it was Mette Frederiksen that completed the party's right-turn on immigration. Since then, Social Democrats have been supporting strict controls of immigration, arguing that it is integral to "a new class struggle" as it protects the national culture, rural communities and the working-class identities of Denmark.[53] The party's proposals include expulsion of asylum seekers, a cap on non-Western immigration, and a requirement for immigrants to work at least 37 hours per week before being given a right to social and welfare benefits.[7] It links immigration to sexual violence, trafficking and erosion of Danish culture.[54]
Social Democrats also adopted a conservative stance on cultural diversity, supporting repatriation rather than integration, postulating a ban on burqas and niqabs, and voting in favour of a law allowing Danish authorities to confiscate valuable items from refugees crossing the border.[7] It also implemented a ban on room prayers in schools, strict requirements for family reunions, and a "ghetto plan", where immigrant areas designated as "ghettos" were given special regulation such as doubled punishments for certain crimes, easier access to personal information of residents for state authorities, and obligatory day care institutions for children (with non-attendance resulting in welfare grants cuts).[55] The party is considered to have "moved strongly to the center" on other cultural issues;[56] it makes no mention of gender and racial equality in its ideological declarations.[54]
These stances were compared to the ones of radical right parties - Valur Ingimundarson of theUniversity of Iceland wrote that the Social Democrats "have revised their immigration policy in such a radical way that it echoes many of the core tenets of the right-wingDanish People’s Party", and that they "embraced the anti-immigration and anti-refugee stance of the populist right."[57]Josef Joffe described the party's new stance as a combination of "harsh anti-immigrant — but generous social - policy", and argued that by adopting such platform, the Danish Social Democrats have "put on rightish clothes".[58]Foreign Policy argues that the party has "adopted the far-right’s anti-immigration stance", noting that the Social Democrats reject theUnited Nations annual quota of refugees resettled, support prison sentences for immigrant parents who take their children on extended visits to their home country, closing asylum centers, advocating detaining asylum seekers offshore and establishing facilities in North African countries instead.[59]
Since then, the party is described as a "left conservative" social democratic party, as it "places itself to the left on issues related to welfare and redistribution, and right on cultural and value‐related issues".[6] Its ideology was also described as a combination of "populism, socialism andcultural conservatism",[60] and Social Democrats have been compared to theSahra Wagenknecht Alliance, a German 'left-conservative' party that split fromDie Linke.[61] The party is consideredwelfare chauvinist,[62][63][64] and is also described asnativist.[65]
The current Party Leader isMette Frederiksen. She succeededHelle Thorning-Schmidt, who stepped down after the left bloc's defeat in the2015 Danish general election. Deputy Party Leaders areLennart Damsbo-Andersen andChristian Rabjerg Madsen. The Secretary General isAnnette Lind.[66]
| No. | Portrait | Leader | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Pio, LouisLouis Pio (1841–1894) | 1871 | 1872 | 0–1 years |
| 2 |  | Wurtz, CarlCarl Würtz (1832–ca. 1873) | 1872 | 1873 | 0–1 years |
| 3 | | Klein, Ernst WilhelmErnst Wilhelm Klein (1830–ca. 1879) | 1873 | 1872 | 1–2 years |
| (1) | | Pio, LouisLouis Pio (1841–1894) | 1875 | 1877 | 1–2 years |
| 4 |  | Hordum, ChristenChristen Hørdum (1846–1911) | 1877 | 1878 | 0–1 years |
| 5 |  | Meyer, A CA.C. Meyer (1858–1938) | 1878 | 1878 | 0 years |
| 6 | | Wiegell, Saxo WSaxo W. Wiegell (1843–1909) | 1878 | 1880 | 1–2 years |
| (4) | | Hordum, ChristenChristen Hørdum (1846–1911) | 1880 | 1882 | 1–2 years |
| 7 |  | Knudsen, Peter ChristianPeter Christian Knudsen (1848–1910) | 1882 | 1910 | 27–28 years |
| 8 |  | Stauning, ThorvaldThorvald Stauning (1873–1942) | 1910 | 1939 | 28–29 years |
| 9 |  | Hedtoft, HansHans Hedtoft (1903–1955) | 1939 | 1955 | 15–16 years |
| 10 |  | Hansen, H CH. C. Hansen (1906–1960) | 1955 | 1960 | 4–5 years |
| 11 |  | Kampmann, ViggoViggo Kampmann (1910–1976) | 1960 | 1962 | 1–2 years |
| 12 |  | Krag, Jens OttoJens Otto Krag (1914–1978) | 1962 | 1972 | 9–10 years |
| 13 |  | Jorgensen, AnkerAnker Jørgensen (1922–2016) | 1972 | 1987 | 14–15 years |
| 14 |  | Auken, SvendSvend Auken (1943–2009) | 1987 | 3 September 1992 | 4–5 years |
| 15 |  | Rasmussen, Poul NyrupPoul Nyrup Rasmussen (born 1943) | 3 September 1992 | 14 December 2002 | 10 years |
| 16 |  | Lykketoft, MogensMogens Lykketoft (born 1946) | 14 December 2002 | 12 April 2005 | 2 years |
| 17 |  | Thorning-Schmidt, HelleHelle Thorning-Schmidt (born 1966) | 12 April 2005 | 28 June 2015 | 10 years |
| 18 |  | Frederiksen, MetteMette Frederiksen (born 1977) | 28 June 2015 | 10 years |
The Social Democrats governed Denmark for most of the 20th century, with a few intermissions such as theConservative People's Party-led government ofPoul Schlüter in the 1980s. It continued to be Denmark's largest party until 2001 whenAnders Fogh Rasmussen's liberalVenstre party gained a landslide victory, becoming the largest party and forming a centre-right government. From 2015 and onwards, The Social Democrats have again been the largest party in Denmark. The Social Democrats returned to government from 2011 to 2015 and since 2019.
| Folketing | |||||||
| Year | Votes | % | ± pp | Seats | +/– | Rank | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1884 | 7,000 | 4.9 | New | 2 / 102 | New | 3rd | Opposition |
| 1887 | 8,000 | 3.5 |  1.4 | 1 / 102 | 1 |  3rd | Opposition |
| 1890 | 17,000 | 7.3 |  3.8 | 3 / 102 | 2 | 3rd | Opposition |
| 1892 | 20,000 | 8.9 | 1.6 | 2 / 102 | 1 | 4th | Opposition |
| 1895 | 24,510 | 11.3 | 2.4 | 8 / 114 | 6 | 4th | Opposition |
| 1898 | 31,870 | 14.2 | 2.9 | 12 / 114 | 4 | 4th | Opposition |
| 1901 | 38,398 | 17.8 | 3.6 | 14 / 114 | 2 | 3rd | Opposition |
| 1903 | 48,117 | 21.0 | 3.2 | 16 / 114 | 2 | 3rd | Opposition |
| 1906 | 76,612 | 25.4 | 4.4 | 24 / 114 | 8 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 1909 | 93,079 | 29.0 | 3.6 | 24 / 114 | 0 | 1st | External support |
| 1910 | 98,718 | 28.3 | 0.7 | 24 / 114 | 0 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 1913 | 107,365 | 29.6 | 1.3 | 32 / 114 | 8 | 1st | External support |
| 1915 | 1,134 | 8.8 | 20.8 | 32 / 114 | 0 | 3rd | External support |
| 1918 | 262,796 | 28.7 | 19.9 | 39 / 140 | 7 | 2nd | External support |
| 1920 (April) | 300,345 | 29.2 | 0.5 | 42 / 140 | 3 | 2nd | Caretaker government |
| 1920 (July) | 285,166 | 29.8 | 0.6 | 42 / 140 | 0 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 1920 (September) | 389,653 | 32.2 | 2.4 | 48 / 149 | 6 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 1924 | 469,949 | 36.6 | 4.4 | 55 / 149 | 7 | 1st | Minority |
| 1926 | 497,106 | 37.2 | 6.0 | 53 / 149 | 2 | 1st | Opposition |
| 1929 | 593,191 | 41.8 | 4.6 | 61 / 149 | 8 | 1st | Coalition |
| 1932 | 660.839 | 42.7 | 0.9 | 62 / 149 | 1 | 1st | Coalition |
| 1935 | 759,102 | 46.4 | 3.7 | 68 / 149 | 6 | 1st | Coalition |
| 1939 | 729,619 | 42.9 | 3.5 | 64 / 149 | 4 | 1st | Coalition |
| 1943 | 894,632 | 44.5 | 1.6 | 66 / 149 | 2 | 1st | Coalition |
| 1945 | 671,755 | 32.8 | 11.7 | 48 / 149 | 18 | 1st | Opposition |
| 1947 | 836,231 | 41.2 | 8.4 | 57 / 150 | 9 | 1st | Minority |
| 1950 | 813,224 | 39.6 | 1.6 | 59 / 151 | 2 | 1st | Opposition |
| 1953 (April) | 836,507 | 40.4 | 0.8 | 61 / 151 | 2 | 1st | Opposition |
| 1953 (September) | 894,913 | 41.3 | 0.9 | 74 / 179 | 13 | 1st | Minority |
| 1957 | 910,170 | 39.4 | 1.9 | 70 / 179 | 4 | 1st | Coalition |
| 1960 | 1,023,794 | 42.1 | 2.7 | 76 / 179 | 6 | 1st | Coalition |
| 1964 | 1,103,667 | 41.9 | 0.2 | 76 / 179 | 0 | 1st | Minority |
| 1966 | 1,068,911 | 38.2 | 3.7 | 69 / 179 | 7 | 1st | Minority |
| 1968 | 974,833 | 34.2 | 4.0 | 62 / 179 | 7 | 1st | Opposition |
| 1971 | 1,074,777 | 37.3 | 3.1 | 70 / 179 | 8 | 1st | Minority |
| 1973 | 783,145 | 25.6 | 11.4 | 46 / 179 | 24 | 1st | Opposition |
| 1975 | 913,155 | 29.9 | 4.0 | 53 / 179 | 7 | 1st | Minority |
| 1977 | 1,150,355 | 37.0 | 7.1 | 65 / 179 | 12 | 1st | Minority(1977–1978) |
| Coalition(1978–1979) | |||||||
| 1979 | 1,213,456 | 38.3 | 1.3 | 68 / 179 | 3 | 1st | Minority |
| 1981 | 1,026,726 | 32.9 | 5.4 | 59 / 179 | 9 | 1st | Minority(1981–1982) |
| Opposition(1982–1984) | |||||||
| 1984 | 1,062,561 | 31.6 | 1.3 | 56 / 179 | 3 | 1st | Opposition |
| 1987 | 985,906 | 29.3 | 2.3 | 54 / 179 | 2 | 1st | Opposition |
| 1988 | 992,682 | 29.8 | 0.5 | 55 / 179 | 1 | 1st | Opposition |
| 1990 | 1,221,121 | 37.4 | 7.6 | 69 / 179 | 14 | 1st | Opposition(1990–1993) |
| Coalition(1993–1994) | |||||||
| 1994 | 1,150,048 | 34.6 | 2.8 | 62 / 179 | 7 | 1st | Coalition |
| 1998 | 1,223,620 | 35.9 | 1.3 | 63 / 179 | 1 | 1st | Coalition |
| 2001 | 1,003,023 | 29.1 | 6.8 | 52 / 179 | 11 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 2005 | 867,350 | 25.8 | 3.3 | 47 / 179 | 5 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 2007 | 881,037 | 25.5 | 0.3 | 45 / 179 | 2 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 2011 | 879,615 | 24.8 | 0.7 | 44 / 179 | 1 | 2nd | Coalition |
| 2015 | 925,288 | 26.3 | 1.5 | 47 / 179 | 3 | 1st | Opposition |
| 2019 | 915,363 | 25.9 | 0.4 | 48 / 179 | 1 | 1st | Minority |
| 2022 | 971,995 | 27.5 | 1.6 | 50 / 179 | 2 | 1st | Coalition |
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| European Parliament | |||||||
| Year | List leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Kjeld Olesen | 382,487 | 21.92 (#1) | 3 / 16 | New | SOC | |
| 1984 | Eva Gredal | 387,098 | 19.45 (#3) | 3 / 16 | 0 | ||
| 1989 | Kirsten Jensen | 417,076 | 23.31 (#1) | 4 / 16 | 1 | ||
| 1994 | 329,202 | 15.83 (#3) | 3 / 16 | 1 | PES | ||
| 1999 | Torben Lund | 324,256 | 16.46 (#2) | 3 / 16 | 0 | ||
| 2004 | Poul Nyrup Rasmussen | 618,412 | 32.65 (#1) | 5 / 14 | 2 | ||
| 2009 | Dan Jørgensen | 503,982 | 21.49 (#1) | 4 / 13 | 1 | S&D | |
| 2014 | Jeppe Kofod | 435,245 | 19.12 (#2) | 3 / 13 | 1 | ||
| 2019 | 592,645 | 21.48 (#2) | 3 / 14 | 0 | |||
| 2024 | Christel Schaldemose | 381,125 | 15.57 (#2) | 3 / 14 | 0 | ||
At the2019 election the Social Democrats won 48 seats in parliament.Henrik Sass Larsen was originally elected, but resigned his seat on 30 September 2019, after whichTanja Larsson took over his seat.[67]Ida Auken was originally elected as a member of theSocialist People's Party, but switched to the Social Democrats on 29 January 2021.[68][69]
At the2019 European Parliament election, the Social Democrats won three seats. The Social Democrats are part of theProgressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament.[70]
Of the 16 Danish members of the Nordic Council, four are members of the Social Democrats. The members of the Nordic Council are not elected by the public, but instead chosen by the parliamentary party groups. The Social Democrats are part ofThe Social Democratic Group in the Nordic Council.[71][72]
The Social Democratic Youth of Denmark (Danish:Danmarks Socialdemokratiske Ungdom) is the Social Democrats' youth wing. It was founded on 8 February 1920 and is an independent organization from the Social Democrats. This allows them to formulate their own policies and make their own campaigns. Prominent Social Democrats beginning their political work in the Social Democratic Youth include prime ministersHans Hedtoft,H. C. Hansen,Jens Otto Krag,Anker Jørgensen andMette Frederiksen, as well as ministersPer Hækkerup andMorten Bødskov.[73][74]
Frit Forum is the Social Democrats' student organization. It was founded in 1943 inCopenhagen. It has since 1973 been organizationally part of Social Democratic Youth. Prominent members previously leading Frit Forum include prime ministerPoul Nyrup Rasmussen and other leaders of the Social DemocratsMogens Lykketoft andSvend Auken.[75][76]
(in Danish)European Parliament group:Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats | |||||||||||||||
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