March 23, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The Socialist People’s Party (SF) has reached third place in the Scandinavian country’s political ladder, according to a poll by Catinét Research released by Ritzau. 20.8 per cent of respondents would vote for the SF in the next general election, up 5.1 points since February.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The Socialist People’s Party (SF) has reached third place in the Scandinavian country’s political ladder, according to a poll by Catinét Research released by Ritzau. 20.8 per cent of respondents would vote for the SF in the next general election, up 5.1 points since February.

The governing Left, Liberal Party of Denmark (V) remains in first place with 27.2 per cent, followed by the Social Democracy in Denmark (SD) with 21 per cent. The Danish People’s Party (DF) is fourth with 13.6 per cent, followed by the Conservative People’s Party (KF) with 9.1 per cent, and the Radical Left-Social Liberal Party (RV) with 4.1 per cent. Support is lower for the Unity List-The Red Greens (EL), the New Alliance (NA), and the Christian Democrats (KD).

A legislative election took place in November 2007. The Liberals received 26.3 per cent of the vote and secured 46 seats, followed by the Social Democrats with 25.5 per cent and 45 mandates. The ruling coalition—encompassing V, KF and DF—took control of 89 seats, one short of the 90 required to govern without the support of another political party. The NA, which won 2.8 per cent of the vote and five seats, joined the administration. Liberal leader Rasmussen—who has served as prime minister since November 2001—retained his position.

In 2005, Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten accompanied an article on censorship and freedom of the press with 12 cartoons depicting Muslim prophet Mohammed. Islam usually forbids depictions of Mohammed, as a measure to curb idolatry. In early 2006, several European newspapers and media outlets decided to re-print the cartoons. Public protests occurred in more than a dozen countries, and the embassies of Denmark and Norway in Syria—as well as the Danish consulate in Lebanon and an Italian consulate in Libya—were torched by mobs.

Last month, SF leader Villy Sovndal criticized a group called Hizb ut-Tahrir—which has argued for the implementation of Islamic law in Denmark—saying, "If they want to live in a religious dictatorship so badly, they can go to those countries in the Middle East where such dictatorships exist."

Polling Data

What party would you support in the next general election?

	Mar. 15	Feb. 6	Jan. 19
Left, Liberal Party of Denmark (V)	27.2%	26.9%	26.2%
Social Democracy in Denmark (SD)	21.0%	24.8%	25.5%
Socialist People’s Party (SF)	20.8%	15.7%	14.2%
Danish People’s Party (DF)	13.6%	13.9%	14.4%
Conservative People’s Party (KF)	9.1%	10.0%	10.0%
Radical Left-Social Liberal Party (RV)	4.1%	6.0%	5.9%
Unity List-The Red Greens (EL)	2.1%	1.8%	1.9%
New Alliance (NA)	1.2%	0.5%	1.4%
Christian Democrats (KD)	0.9%	0.4%	0.5%

Source: Catinét Research / Ritzau
Methodology: Interviews with 1,052 Dane adults, conducted from Mar. 10 to Mar. 15, 2008. Margin of error is 2.7 per cent.