May 12, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The governing Left, Liberal Party of Denmark (V) continues to lead all other political organizations in the country by a small margin, according to a poll by Megafon released by TV2. 26 per cent of respondents would vote for the centre-right party in the next general election.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The governing Left, Liberal Party of Denmark (V) continues to lead all other political organizations in the country by a small margin, according to a poll by Megafon released by TV2. 26 per cent of respondents would vote for the centre-right party in the next general election.

The Social Democracy in Denmark (SD) is second with 23.6 per cent, followed by the Socialist People’s Party (SF) with 18.8 per cent, the Danish People’s Party (DF) with 14.4 per cent, the Conservative People’s Party (KF) with 9.8 per cent, and the Radical Left-Social Liberal Party (RV) with 4.3 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 Anders Fogh Rasmussen—who has served as prime minister since November 2001—retained his position.

Earlier this year, the Danish People’s Party (DF)—which backs Rasmussen’s government—ran newspaper ads which depict a woman in a Muslim burka wielding a judge’s gavel and saying, "Give us Denmark back." The DF ran the ads in response to a recent ruling by a court saying that it is not against the law for Danish judges to wear a Muslim head scarf inside the courtroom.

On May 8, a group of 26 Danish personalities—including former foreign minister Uffe Ellemann-Jensen, former prime minister Anker Jorgensen, author Benny Andersen, and former central bank governor Erik Hoffmeyer—signed a letter of protest against the ads. The group stated: "The burka ads run by the Danish People’s Party mark a new peak in the party’s attempts to throw suspicions on a minority."

Polling Data

What party would you support in the next general election?

	Apr. 2008	Mar. 2008	Feb. 2008
Left, Liberal Party of Denmark (V)	26.0%	26.3%	26.8%
Social Democracy in Denmark (SD)	23.6%	21.8%	23.3%
Socialist People’s Party (SF)	18.8%	18.6%	14.4%
Danish People’s Party (DF)	14.4%	15.0%	15.4%
Conservative People’s Party (KF)	9.8%	10.1%	10.1%
Radical Left-Social Liberal Party (RV)	4.3%	4.5%	6.2%
Unity List-The Red Greens (EL)	2.1%	2.3%	2.1%
New Alliance (NA)	0.4%	1.1%	1.3%
Christian Democrats (KD)	0.4%	0.3%	0.2%

Source: Megafon / TV2
Methodology: Interviews with 1,031 Dane adults, conducted from Apr. 21 to Apr. 24, 2008. Margin of error is 2.7 per cent.