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Politics

Rightward shift in Denmark mirrors European trend

DANISH NEWS - Denmark's swing towards the nationalistic Danish People's Party analysed by Global Risks Insights

Last week’s election, which resulted in a shift towards the right, signals a crisis of identity and dissatisfaction with Denmark’s political governance, according to Global Risks Insights and Seven59.dk.

Winning more votes than ever in the party’s history, the Danish People’s Party (DPP) soared to new heights in the latest election, amassing 21.1 per cent of the vote and surpassing The Liberals as the second largest’s party.

The DPP mixes a pro-welfare stance and socialist objectives with a fierce hostility towards immigration and threats to “authentic” Danish culture. The party advocates both a tougher immigration stance and renegotiation of Denmark’s European Union participation.

Not unique to Denmark

This approach extends to some unconventional propositions to combat internationalisation in Denmark, such as imposing a tax on English-language advertisements and banning university degrees in English, writes Global Risks Insights.

However this swing towards far-right nationalist parties is not unique to Denmark. Euroskeptic, nationalist parties of varying radicalism are gaining traction in Greece (Golden Dawn, Syriza), France (Front National), Spain (Podemos), Finland (True Finns), and Poland (Law and Justice Party). Although less radical than DPP, Sweden has the Sweden Democrats, and Norway has the Progress Party.

The trend tends to be caused by domestic rifts between capital cities and regional areas. Danes outside cities feel disconnected from political decision-making in Copenhagen and ignored by the major parties.

With a minority government led by The Liberal Party and backed by 37 mandates from the DPP, the nationalist party will have the opportunity to wield significant influence in Danish politics, writes Global Risks Insights.

Read the article from Global Risk Insights here..

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