Danish Social Liberal Party Radikale Venstre | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Abbreviation | RV B[a] |
| Leader | Martin Lidegaard |
| Chairman | Mikkel Irminger Sarbo |
| Founded | 21 May 1905; 120 years ago (1905-05-21) |
| Split from | Venstre |
| Headquarters | Christiansborg 1240København K,Denmark |
| Newspaper | Radikal Politik |
| Youth wing | Radikal Ungdom |
| Membership(2022) |  5,945[1] |
| Ideology | Social liberalism Pro-Europeanism |
| Political position | Centre tocentre-left |
| European affiliation | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party |
| European Parliament group | Renew Europe |
| International affiliation | Liberal International Historical: Radical International |
| Nordic affiliation | Centre Group |
| Colours | |
| Folketing | 7 / 179 (4%) [2] |
| European Parliament | 1 / 15 (7%) |
| Regions | 12 / 205 |
| Municipalities | 94 / 2,432 |
| Mayors | 1 / 98 |
| Election symbol | |
.svg) .svg) | |
| Party flag | |
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| Website | |
| radikale.dk | |
TheDanish Social Liberal Party (Danish:Radikale Venstre,RV,lit. 'Radical Left') is asocial-liberal[8]political party inDenmark.[3] The party was founded as a split from theVenstre Reform Party in 1905.[4][5][6][7]
Historically, thecentrist[9][10] tocentre-left[13] party has played a central role inDanish politics and has supported governments on both sides of thepolitical spectrum, as co-operation is a primary belief of the party.[14] Apro-European party, it is a member ofLiberal International and theALDE, and has one MEP in theRenew Europe group in theEuropean Parliament.
The party was founded in 1905 as a split from theVenstre. The initial impetus was the expulsion ofVenstre'santimilitarist wing from the party in January 1905. The expelled members held a founding conference for the new party inOdense, on 21 May 1905. In addition to the differences over military spending, thesocial liberals also took a more positive view than Venstre towards measures that aimed to reducesocial inequality. The party also became the political leg of thecultural radical movement. The party was cautiously open to aspects of thewelfare state, and also advocated reforms to improve the position ofsmallholders, an important early group of supporters.[15][16] The party's social-liberal ideals are said to have been inspired by the political economistsHenry George andJohn Stuart Mill.[17] Until 1936 party was member of theInternational Entente of Radical and Similar Democratic Parties.
The first Social Liberal Cabinet was formed in 1909 withCarl Theodor Zahle serving as Prime Minister (1909–1910). From 1913 to 1920, Zahle led the second Social Liberal Cabinet with theSocial Democrats serving as parliamentary support, keeping Denmark neutral duringWorld War I. During theGreat Depression of the 1930s, the party served as coalition partners along with the Social Democrats, led by Prime MinisterThorvald Stauning, and managed to lead the country through the recession by implementing far-reaching social reforms.[14]
After 1945, the party continued with its pragmatic ways, influencing either as coalition partner as parliamentary support. From 1957 to 1964 they served as coalition partners in a Social Democratic led government, whileHilmar Baunsgaard served as Prime Minister 1968–1971 in a coalition government withVenstre and theConservative People's Party as partners. In the1968 general elections the party reached an all-time high of 15% of the vote, while they only received 11.2% in the1973 landslide election.
During the 1980s, the party served either as parliamentary support or as coalition partner in various Conservative led governments.
After an all-time low in the1990 general elections (where the party only received 3.5% of the vote), the party once again started cooperating with the Social Democrats under leadership ofPoul Nyrup Rasmussen, participating in a coalition government in 1993.[14]
In the early 2000s, the political scene was marked by "bloc"-politics, with "blue bloc" being led by Venstre and "red bloc" by the Social Democrats. TheDanish People's Party overtook the Social Liberals' key position as prime candidate for parliamentary support. Furthermore, the DPP's anti-immigrant policies made the Social Liberals profile themselves as a progressive party beingpro-globalisation, pro-EU and more tolerant towardsrefugees andimmigrants. At the same time the party profiled itself on reforming thewelfare system, campaigning to abolish "efterløn" and lower taxes. As such the party served to unite a modern social profile with a more liberal economic profile. This served to appeal the more well-educated urbanised parts of the country, resulting in 9.2% of the vote at the2005 general elections.[14]
In a 2006 press release, they tried to mark themselves as once again being able to lead a government, doing away with the presumption of the party only being able to serve as government partner or parliamentary support.[18] The strategy proved unpopular both among voters and within the party itself.[19] On 7 May 2007 MPNaser Khader and MEPAnders Samuelsen left the party and formed the New Alliance, known today as theLiberal Alliance, along with Conservative MEPGitte Seeberg.[14] At a press conference on 15 June 2007, it was announced that MPMargrethe Vestager would take over leadership of the party afterMarianne Jelved, and that the party would rethink its strategy. The party returned to its historical role as possible coalition partner and at the political centre of Danish politics.[20] Vestager clarified during the run-up to the2007 general election that her party would only be supporting a government led by the Social Democrats. Still, the party only won 5.1% of the vote.
At the subsequent2011 general elections, the party support rose to 9.5% and regained eight seats to resume a total of 17. Together with the Social Democrats and theSocialist People's Party, they formed athree-way government coalition.
On 31 August 2014, Prime MinisterHelle Thorning-Schmidt nominated Margrethe Vestager as Denmark'sEU Commissioner, resulting in her resignation as party leader. The party's parliamentary group subsequently electedMorten Østergaard as new leader.[21]
At the2015 general elections, the party lost nine out of 17 seats and was reduced to 4.6%. The party lost a share of its voters to the newly formedThe Alternative, aGreen political party formed by former member of the partyUffe Elbæk.[22]
At the2019 general elections, the party rose to 8.6% of the vote, doubling its number of seats to 16. Østergaard stated that he would support a government led by the Social Democrats only if changes would be made to the previous government's strict immigration policies.[23]
On 7 October 2020, Morten Østergaard stepped down as leader of the party following allegations ofsexual harassment from within the party.Sofie Carsten Nielsen was elected new leader the same day.[24]
Nielsen resigned on 2 November 2022, following the loss of nine out of 16 seats in the2022 Danish general election. The Social Liberal Party had instigated the election by threatening avote of no confidence againstMette Frederiksen's government in July 2022 due to the2020 Danish mink cull.[25][26] One day later,Martin Lidegaard became leader of the party.[27]
The Danish Social Liberal Party has traditionally kept itself in the centre of the political scale. Since the early 1990s, though, it has primarily cooperated with theSocial Democrats. Internationally, the party has cooperated with the SwedishCentre Party andLiberals, the NorwegianVenstre party, the DutchDemocrats 66, and the BritishLiberal Democrats.[citation needed]
The literal translation of the party's nameRadical Left refers to its origin as thehistorically radical wing of its parent partyVenstre (Left). In a modern context, this literal translation is somewhat misleading, as the party is considered to becentrist in the Danishpolitical spectrum. The use ofLeft in the name of the party, as with the Norwegian partyVenstre, is meant to refer toliberalism and not modernleft-wing politics. The Danish Venstre was originally to the left of theconservative andaristocraticright-wing partyHøjre, whose name meantRight.[citation needed]
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1906 | 38,151 | 12.6 (#4) | 15 / 114 |  9 | Opposition |
| 1909 | 50,305 | 15.5 (#4) | 15 / 114 | 6 | Opposition(1909) |
| Minority(1909–1910) | |||||
| 1910 | 64,884 | 18.6 (#3) | 20 / 114 | 5 | Opposition |
| 1913 | 67,903 | 18.7 (#3) | 32 / 114 | 11 | Minority |
| 1915 | 677 | 5.3 (#3) | 31 / 140 | 1 | Minority |
| 1918 | 189,521 | 20.7 (#3) | 32 / 140 | 1 | Minority |
| 1920 (Apr) | 122,160 | 11.9 (#4) | 17 / 140 | 15 | Caretaker government |
| 1920 (Jul) | 109,931 | 11.5 (#4) | 16 / 140 | 1 | Opposition |
| 1920 (Sep) | 147,120 | 12.1 (#4) | 18 / 149 | 2 | Opposition |
| 1924 | 166,476 | 13.0 (#4) | 20 / 149 | 2 | External support |
| 1926 | 151,746 | 11.3 (#4) | 16 / 149 | 4 | External support |
| 1929 | 151,746 | 10.7 (#4) | 16 / 149 |  0 | Coalition |
| 1932 | 145,221 | 9.4 (#4) | 14 / 149 | 2 | Coalition |
| 1935 | 151,507 | 9.2 (#4) | 14 / 149 | 0 | Coalition |
| 1939 | 161,834 | 9.5 (#4) | 14 / 149 | 0 | Coalition |
| 1943 | 175,179 | 8.7 (#4) | 11 / 149 | 2 | Coalition |
| 1945 | 167,073 | 8.1 (#5) | 11 / 149 | 2 | External support |
| 1947 | 144,206 | 6.9 (#4) | 10 / 150 | 1 | External support |
| 1950 | 167,969 | 8.2 (#5) | 12 / 151 | 2 | Opposition |
| 1953 (Apr) | 178,942 | 8.6 (#4) | 13 / 151 | 1 | External support |
| 1953 (Sep) | 169,295 | 7.8 (#4) | 14 / 179 | 1 | External support |
| 1957 | 179,822 | 7.8 (#4) | 14 / 179 | 0 | Coalition |
| 1960 | 140,979 | 5.8 (#5) | 11 / 179 | 3 | Coalition |
| 1964 | 139,702 | 5.3 (#5) | 10 / 179 | 1 | External support |
| 1966 | 203,858 | 7.3 (#5) | 13 / 179 | 3 | Opposition |
| 1968 | 427,304 | 15.0 (#4) | 27 / 179 | 14 | Coalition |
| 1971 | 413,620 | 14.4 (#4) | 27 / 179 | 0 | External support |
| 1973 | 343,718 | 11.2 (#4) | 20 / 179 | 7 | External support |
| 1975 | 216,553 | 7.1 (#4) | 13 / 179 | 7 | External support |
| 1977 | 113,330 | 3.6 (#8) | 6 / 179 | 7 | External support |
| 1979 | 172,365 | 5.4 (#6) | 10 / 179 | 4 | External support |
| 1981 | 160,053 | 5.1 (#7) | 9 / 179 | 1 | External support |
| 1984 | 184,642 | 5.5 (#6) | 10 / 179 | 1 | External support |
| 1987 | 209,086 | 6.2 (#5) | 11 / 179 | 1 | External support |
| 1988 | 185,707 | 5.6 (#6) | 10 / 179 | 1 | Coalition |
| 1990 | 114,888 | 3.5 (#7) | 7 / 179 | 3 | External support(1990–1993) |
| Coalition(1993–1994) | |||||
| 1994 | 152,701 | 4.6 (#6) | 8 / 179 | 1 | Coalition |
| 1998 | 131,254 | 3.9 (#7) | 7 / 179 | 1 | Coalition |
| 2001 | 179,023 | 5.2 (#6) | 9 / 179 | 2 | Opposition |
| 2005 | 308,212 | 9.2 (#5) | 17 / 179 | 8 | Opposition |
| 2007 | 177,161 | 5.1 (#6) | 9 / 179 | 8 | Opposition |
| 2011 | 336,698 | 9.5 (#4) | 17 / 179 | 8 | Coalition |
| 2015 | 160,672 | 4.6 (#7) | 8 / 179 | 9 | Opposition |
| 2019 | 304,273 | 8.6 (#4) | 16 / 179 | 8 | External support |
| 2022 | 133,931 | 3.8 (#9) | 7 / 179 | 9 | Opposition |
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| Year | List leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Unclear | 56,944 | 3.26 (#10) | 0 / 15 | New | – |
| 1984 | Unclear | 62,560 | 3.14 (#9) | 0 / 15 | 0 | |
| 1989 | Unclear | 50,196 | 2.81 (#8) | 0 / 16 | 0 | |
| 1994 | Lone Dybkjær | 176,480 | 8.48 (#6) | 1 / 16 | 1 | ELDR |
| 1999 | 180,089 | 9.14 (#4) | 1 / 16 | 0 | ||
| 2004 | Anders Samuelsen | 120,473 | 6.36 (#6) | 1 / 14 | 0 | ALDE |
| 2009 | Sofie Carsten Nielsen | 100,094 | 4.27 (#7) | 0 / 13 | 1 | – |
| 2014 | Morten Helveg Petersen | 148,949 | 6.54 (#7) | 1 / 13 | 1 | ALDE |
| 2019 | 277,929 | 10.07 (#4) | 2 / 14 | 1 | RE | |
| 2024 | Sigrid Friis Frederiksen | 173,355 | 7.08 (#6) | 1 / 15 | 1 |
In theEuropean Parliament, the Danish Social Liberal Party sits in theRenew Europe group with one MEP.[28]
In theEuropean Committee of the regions, the Danish Social Liberal Party sits in theRenew Europe in the European Committee of the Regions group, with one full member for the 2025 – 2030 mandate.[29] Hanne Roed is a member of the Bureau of the Renew Europe CoR Group.
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