Christian Democrats (Denmark)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2008) |
Christian Democrats Kristendemokraterne | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairman | Isabella Arendt |
| Founded | 13 April 1970 |
| Headquarters | Vermlandsgade 51 2300 København S |
| Youth wing | Christian Democratic Youth |
| Ideology | Christian democracy[1] Social conservatism Environmentalism[2] |
| Political position | Centre[1] to centre-right[1] |
| European affiliation | European People's Party |
| International affiliation | Centrist Democrat International |
| Colours | Orange |
| Folketing | 1 / 179 |
| Regional councils | 1 / 205 |
| Municipal councils | 11 / 2,436
|
| Election symbol | |
| K | |
| Website | |
kd | |
The Christian Democrats (Danish: Kristendemokraterne) are a political party in Denmark. The party was founded in April 1970 as the Christian People's Party (Kristeligt Folkeparti)[3] to oppose the liberalization of restrictions on pornography and the legalization of abortion.[4][5] The party renamed itself to its current name in 2003.[3] Originally, the party was not considered part of the European Christian-democratic tradition, and it was better known as a religious conservative party.[6]
The Christian Democrats are a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and the Centrist Democrat International.
History[]
The party was formed in 1970.[7] Since its inception, the party has enjoyed an intermittent presence in the Parliament of Denmark, rarely winning much more than the two percent minimum required to gain seats under Denmark's proportional representation system, and frequently falling below the threshold, as has happened in every election from the 2005 parliamentary election onwards. Despite its small size, the party has served in a number of coalition governments. From 1982 to 1988, it was in coalition with the Liberal Party, Conservative People's Party and Centre Democrats; from 1993 to 1994, it served in government with the Social Democrats, the Social Liberals and the Centre Democrats.[5]
From 2002 to 2005, the party was led by Marianne Karlsmose. The name of the party was changed to the Christian Democrats in 2003. In October 2005, the party elected Bodil Kornbek as its new chairman.[8] Her attempt to introduce a more secular centre-left profile had some success in the beginning, but the party once again failed to win seats in the 2007 elections. In October 2008, Kornbek was replaced by from its more conservative and religious wing.
In 2010, the Christian Democrats regained parliamentary representation when the Independent former Conservative MP joined the party. Since he was not formerly known for having expressed opinions based on Christianity, these events once more softened the religious character of the party.
On 30 June 2011, it was announced that the Christian Democrats had started cooperating with , a single-issue party fighting for decentralization, especially in health care policy, with some success in regional and local elections. This means that candidates from the two parties appeared on a joint list at the 2011 Danish parliamentary election. The Christian Democrats had themselves taken a somewhat regionalist stance at a moment when Fælleslisten had surged in opinion polls.
In September 2012, Per Ørum Jørgensen resigned and subsequently left the party altogether in order to form a new party called the Democratic Party. Egon Jakobsen was appointed as interim chairman, and on 27 October 2012, the former deputy chairman Stig Grenov was elected as new chairman.
Christian Democratic Politicians[]
Party chairmen[]
- : 1970–1973
- : 1973–1979
- Flemming Kofod-Svendsen: 1979–1990
- Jann Sjursen: 1990–2002
- Marianne Karlsmose: 2002–2005
- Bodil Kornbek: 2005–2008
- : 2008–2011
- : 2011–2012
- Egon Jakobsen: 2012 (a.i.)
- Stig Grenov: 2012–2019
- Isabella Arendt: 2019–
Ministers[]
- : Minister for the Environment and Nordic Cooperation (1982–88).
- Flemming Kofod-Svendsen: Minister for Housing (1987–88). Minister for Housing, Nordic Cooperation and Baltic Sea Questions (1993–1994).
- Jann Sjursen: Minister of Energy (1993–1994).
Election results[]
Parliament[]
| Date | Votes | Seats | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | ± pp | # | ± | |
| 1971 | 57,072 | 1.9% | +1.9 | 0 / 179
|
New |
| 1973 | 123,573 | 4.0% | +2.1 | 7 / 179
|
 7
|
| 1975 | 162,734 | 5.3% | +1.3 | 9 / 179
|
2
|
| 1977 | 106,082 | 3.4% | −1.9 | 6 / 179
|
 3
|
| 1979 | 82,133 | 2.6% | −0.8 | 5 / 179
|
1
|
| 1981 | 72,174 | 2.3% | −0.3 | 4 / 179
|
1
|
| 1984 | 91,623 | 2.7% | +0.4 | 5 / 179
|
1
|
| 1987 | 79,664 | 2.4% | −0.3 | 4 / 179
|
1
|
| 1988 | 68,047 | 2.0% | −0.4 | 4 / 179
|
 0
|
| 1990 | 74,174 | 2.3% | +0.3 | 4 / 179
|
0
|
| 1994 | 61,507 | 1.9% | −0.4 | 0 / 179
|
4
|
| 1998 | 85,656 | 2.5% | +0.6 | 4 / 179
|
4
|
| 2001 | 78,793 | 2.3% | −0.2 | 4 / 179
|
0
|
| 2005 | 58,071 | 1.7% | −0.6 | 0 / 179
|
4
|
| 2007 | 30,013 | 0.9% | −0.8 | 0 / 179
|
0
|
| 2011 | 28,070 | 0.8% | −0.1 | 0 / 179
|
0
|
| 2015 | 29,077 | 0.8% | 0.0 | 0 / 179
|
0
|
| 2019 | 61,215 | 1.7% | +0.9 | 0 / 179
|
0
|
Local elections[]
|
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European Parliament[]
| Date | Votes | Seats | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | ± pp | # | ± | |
| 1979 | 30.985 | 1.8% | +1.8 | 0 / 15
|
New |
| 1984 | 54.624 | 2.7% | +2.7 | 0 / 15
|
0
|
| 1989 | 47.768 | 2.7% | 0.0 | 0 / 16
|
0
|
| 1994 | 22.986 | 1.1% | −1.6 | 0 / 16
|
0
|
| 1999 | 39.128 | 2.0% | +0.9 | 0 / 16
|
0
|
| 2004 | 24.286 | 1.3% | −0.7 | 0 / 14
|
0
|
| 2009– | Did not run. | ||||
Further reading[]
- Madeley, John T.S. (2004). "Life at the Northern Margin: Christian Democracy in Scandinavia". In Steven Van Hecke; Emmanuel Gerard (eds.). Christian Democratic Parties in Europe Since the End of the Cold War. Leuven University Press. pp. 217–241. ISBN 90-5867-377-4.
References[]
- ^ a b c Henningsen, Bernd; Etzold, Tobias; Hanne, Krister, eds. (15 September 2017). The Baltic Sea Region: A Comprehensive Guide: History, Politics, Culture and Economy of a European Role Model. Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag. p. 325. ISBN 978-3-8305-1727-6.
- ^ "Kristendemokraternes 'vikar fra himlen': Enhedslisten har den mest fornuftige klimapolitik". 13 May 2019.
- ^ a b André Krouwel (1 December 2012). Party Transformations in European Democracies. SUNY Press. p. 298. ISBN 978-1-4384-4481-9.
- ^ Isabelle Engeli; Christoffer Green-Pedersen; Lars Thorup Larsen (7 August 2012). Morality Politics in Western Europe: Parties, Agendas and Policy Choices. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-230-30933-3.
- ^ a b Åsa Bengtsson; Kasper Hansen; Ólafur Þ Harõarson; Hanne Marthe Narud; Henrik Oscarsson (15 November 2013). The Nordic Voter: Myths of Exceptionalism. ECPR Press. p. 206. ISBN 978-1-907301-50-6.
- ^ Cook, Chris; Francis, Mary (1979). The first European elections: A handbook and guide. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 0-333-26575-0.
- ^ Western Europe 2003. Psychology Press. 30 November 2002. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-85743-152-0. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
- ^ Ritzau (31 October 2005). "Bodil Kornbek ny formand for Kristendemokraterne". Information. Dagbladet Information. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
External links[]
- Official website
in Danish
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Eurofoundation: Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies | |||||||
- Christian democratic parties in Europe
- Protestant political parties
- Political parties in Denmark
- Political parties established in 1970
- Member parties of the European People's Party
- 1970 establishments in Denmark
- Centrist parties in Denmark
- Regionalist parties