Venstre (Denmark)

Venstre, Denmark's Liberal Party
Venstre, Danmarks Liberale Parti
Leader Lars Løkke Rasmussen
Founded 1870, total reform in 1910
Headquarters Søllerødvej 30
2840 Holte
Youth wing Venstres Ungdom
Student wing Liberal Students of Denmark
Membership  (2012) 43,835
Ideology Conservative liberalism[1]
Agrarianism[1][2]
Political position Centre-right[3]
European affiliation Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
International affiliation Liberal International
European Parliament group Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
Colours Blue
Folketing:
34 / 179
European Parliament:
1 / 13
Regions:[4]
62 / 205
Municipalities:[5]
767 / 2,444
Election symbol
V
Website
www.venstre.dk

Venstre[note 1] (Danish pronunciation: [ˈʋɛnsd̥ʁɐ], literally "left"), full name Venstre, Danmarks Liberale Parti (English: Left, Liberal Party of Denmark), is a conservative-liberal[6][7] and agrarian[8] political party in Denmark. Founded as part of a peasants' movement against the landed aristocracy, today it espouses an economically liberal pro-free market ideology.[9]

Venstre is the major party of the centre-right in Denmark, and the third largest party in the country. The party has produced many Prime Ministers. Denmark's current government is a minority government consisting of Venstre alone, supported by the other right wing parties. In the 2015 parliamentary elections, Venstre received 19.5% of the vote, and 34 out of 179 seats. It is led by Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who took over as party leader and Prime Minister from Anders Fogh Rasmussen when the latter became Secretary General of NATO in 2009.

The party is a member of Liberal International and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). One of Denmark's thirteen MEPs are from Venstre in the 2014-19 term of office, and they sit with the ALDE Group in the European Parliament.[10]

Ideology

Venstre is categorised as centre-right on the political spectrum.[3] It is a market liberal party[11] within the Nordic agrarian tradition,[12] and today is notably more pro-free market than its sister parties.[13] Some describe it as classical liberal, since its leader from 1998 to 2009, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, is known for his authorship of the book From Social State to Minimal State. His book advocated an extensive reform of the Danish welfare state along classical liberal lines, including lower taxes and less government interference in corporate and individual matters.

Since the elections in 2001, Venstre has enacted a so-called "tax stop" in order to halt the growth in taxes seen during the previous eight years under the Social Democrats. This tax stop has been under heavy fire from the parties on the left wing of Danish politics, allegedly for being "asocial" and "only for the rich."

History

Venstre 1945 election material ("Venstre has been dealt a good hand")

Venstre, or "the Left" in English, was founded in 1870 under the name Det Forenede Venstre (The United Left). It was formed through the merger of three parliamentary factions, all of whom had identified as leftist in the context of the time. From 1895–1910 it was known as Venstrereformpartiet (Left Reform Party), and after that as Venstre.

Venstre was traditionally a party advocating free trade and farmers' interests as opposed to the interests of the aristocracy which were the platform of the other conservative party Højre (The Right). This traditional landed basis resulted in a relative decline in influence due to the rapidly accelerating urbanisation of Danish society. Starting in the 1880s, the party began expanding into urban regions as well.

By the 1910s, the splitting off of the Social Liberals and the appearance of the Social Democrats had pushed Venstre toward the centre, and it often relied on its former Conservative adversaries for parliamentary support. After the 1960s Venstre was reoriented as a more classical liberal party. During the leadership of Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the party turned further to the right.

List of government participation

Prime Ministers

Leaders since 1929

Origin of the name

The fact that the major centre-right political party in a country calls itself 'Left' is often confusing to many foreign (and sometimes Danish) observers. The name has, however, its historical explanation. At the time of its foundation, Venstre affirmed progressive ideas in the then Danish parliament. Their opponents, Højre (Right), the forerunner of the present-day Conservative People's Party, advocated for established interests, particularly the Church of Denmark and the landed gentry. In current Danish politics there is a clear distinction between the concepts of Venstre (Left, i.e. the party bearing that name) and venstrefløj (left wing, i.e. socialist and other left-leaning parties). The use of the word for "left" in the name of the Danish political party Radikale Venstre and the Norwegian party Venstre is meant to refer to liberalism and not socialism.

Members of the party are referred to as venstremænd and venstrekvinder, respectively "Venstre men" and "Venstre women" (singular: -mand / -kvinde).

Election results

Parliament

Election year # of overall votes % of overall vote % of Danish vote # of overall seats won # of Danish seats won +/- Notes
1872
53 / 104
 New In Det Forenede Venstre.
1873
51 / 104
 Decrease 2 In Det Forenede Venstre.
1876
74 / 104
 Increase 23 In Folketingets Venstre.
1879
65 / 104
 Decrease 9 In Folketingets Venstre.
1881 (may)
69 / 102
 Increase 4 In Folketingets Venstre.
1881 (jul)
75 / 102
 Increase 6 In Folketingets Venstre.
1884 80,000 56.3 (#1)
81 / 102
 Increase 6 In Venstre Reform Party.
1887 132,000 58.1 (#1)
74 / 102
 Decrease 7 In Venstre Reform Party.
1890 123,000 53.0 (#1)
75 / 102
 Increase 1 In Venstre Reform Party.
1892 63,000 28.1 (#3)
30 / 102
 Decrease 45 In Venstre Reform Party.
1895 89,530 40.5 (#1)
53 / 114
 Increase 23 In Venstre Reform Party.
1898 98,070 43.6 (#1)
63 / 114
 Increase 10 In Venstre Reform Party.
1901 103,495 45.9 (#1)
76 / 114
 Increase 13 In Venstre Reform Party.
1903 121,357 49.4 (#1)
73 / 114
 Decrease 3 In Venstre Reform Party.
1906 94,272 31.2 (#1)
56 / 114
 Decrease 17 In Venstre Reform Party.
1909 77,949 24.0 (#1)
37 / 114
 Decrease 19 In Venstre Reform Party.
1910 118,902 34.1 (#1)
57 / 114
 Increase 20
1913 103,917 28.6 (#2)
44 / 114
 Decrease 13
1915
43 / 114
 Decrease 1
1918 269,646 29.4 (#1)
45 / 140
 Increase 2
1920 (apr) 350,563 34.2 (#1)
48 / 140
48 / 139
 Increase 3
1920 (jul) 344,351 36.1 (#1)
51 / 140
51 / 139
 Increase 3
1920 (sep) 411,661 34.0 (#1)
51 / 149
51 / 148
 Steady 0
1924 362,682 28.3 (#2)
44 / 149
44 / 148
 Decrease 7
1926 378,137 28.3 (#2)
46 / 149
46 / 148
 Increase 2
1929 402,121 28.3 (#2)
43 / 149
43 / 148
 Decrease 3
1932 381,862 24.7 (#2)
38 / 149
38 / 148
 Decrease 5
1935 292,247 17.8 (#2)
28 / 149
28 / 148
 Decrease 10
1939 309,355 18.2 (#2)
30 / 149
30 / 148
 Increase 2
1943 376,850 18.7 (#3)
28 / 149
28 / 148
 Decrease 2
1945 479,158 23.4 (#2)
38 / 149
38 / 148
 Increase 10
1947 529,066 25.4 (#2)
46 / 150
46 / 149
 Increase 8
1950 438,188 21.3 (#2)
32 / 151
32 / 149
 Decrease 14
1953 (apr) 456,896 22.1 (#2)
33 / 151
33 / 149
 Increase 1
1953 (sep) 499,656 23.1 (#2)
42 / 179
42 / 175
 Increase 9
1957 578,932 25.1 (#2)
45 / 179
45 / 175
 Increase 3
1960 512,041 21.1 (#2)
38 / 179
38 / 175
 Decrease 7
1964 547,770 20.8 (#2)
38 / 179
38 / 175
 Steady 0 leading the opposition
1966 539,027 19.3 (#2)
35 / 179
35 / 175
 Decrease 3 leading the opposition
1968 530,167 18.6 (#3)
34 / 179
34 / 175
 Decrease 1 part of the Social Liberal-led government
1971 450,904 15.6 (#3)
30 / 179
30 / 175
 Decrease 4 part of the opposition
1973 374,283 12.3 (#3)
22 / 179
22 / 175
 Decrease 8
1975 711,298 23.3 (#2)
42 / 179
42 / 175
 Increase 20
1977 371,728 12.0 (#3)
21 / 179
21 / 175
 Decrease 21
1979 396,484 12.5 (#2)
22 / 179
22 / 175
 Increase 1
1981 353,280 11.3 (#4)
20 / 179
20 / 175
 Decrease 2
1984 405,737 12.1 (#3)
22 / 179
22 / 175
 Increase 2
1987 354,291 10.5 (#4)
19 / 179
19 / 175
 Decrease 3
1988 394,190 11.8 (#4)
22 / 179
22 / 175
 Increase 3
1990 511,643 15.8 (#3)
29 / 179
29 / 175
 Increase 7
1994 775,176 23.3 (#2)
42 / 179
42 / 175
 Increase 13
1998 817,894 24.0 (#2)
42 / 179
42 / 175
 Steady 0
2001 1,077,858 31.2 (#1)
56 / 179
56 / 175
 Increase 14 leading of the government coalition
2005 974,636 29.0 (#1)
52 / 179
52 / 175
 Decrease 4 leading of the government coalition
2007 908,472 26.2 (#1)
46 / 179
46 / 175
 Decrease 6 leading of the government coalition
2011 947,725 26.7 (#1)
47 / 179
47 / 175
 Increase 1 leading the opposition
2015 685,188 19.5 (#3)
34 / 179
34 / 175
 Decrease 13 2015–16: single-party minority government
2016– : coalition minority government

Municipal elections

Election Seats
# ±
1925
2,291 / 11,289
 New
1929
2,615 / 11,329
 Increase 324
1933
2,692 / 11,424
 Increase 77
1937
2,374 / 11,425
 Decrease 318
1943
2,217 / 10,569
 Decrease 157
1946
2,519 / 11,488
 Increase 302
1950
2,342 / 11,499
 Decrease 177
1954
2,353 / 11,505
 Increase 11
1958
2,405 / 11,529
 Increase 52
1962
2,196 / 11,414
 Decrease 209
1966
1,747 / 10,005
 Decrease 449
1970
1,080 / 4,677
 Decrease 667
1974
1,277 / 4,735
 Increase 197
1978
1,155 / 4,759
 Decrease 122
1981
1,240 / 4,769
 Increase 85
1985
1,201 / 4,773
 Decrease 39
1989
1,261 / 4,737
 Increase 60
1993
1,601 / 4,703
 Increase 340
1997
1,557 / 4,685
 Decrease 44
2001
1,666 / 4,647
 Increase 109
2005
804 / 2,522
 Decrease 862
2009
699 / 2,468
 Decrease 105
2013
767 / 2,444
 Increase 68

Regional elections

Date Votes Seats
# ±
1935 217,375
124 / 299
 New
1943 300,241
123 / 299
 Decrease 1
1946 368,040
139 / 299
 Increase 16
1950 348,861
128 / 299
 Decrease 11
1954 355,295
127 / 299
 Decrease 1
1958 412,111
135 / 303
 Increase 8
1962 387,628
127 / 301
 Decrease 8
1966 402,574
115 / 303
 Decrease 12
1970 449,479
95 / 366
 Decrease 20
1974 400,062
98 / 370
 Increase 3
1978 411,812
90 / 370
 Decrease 8
1981 457,565
84 / 370
 Decrease 6
1985 418,149
83 / 374
 Decrease 1
1989 451,807
89 / 374
 Increase 6
1993 717,536
125 / 374
 Increase 36
1997 665,857
124 / 374
 Decrease 1
2001 963,220
139 / 374
 Increase 15
2005 744,466
60 / 205
 Decrease 79
2009 648,903
54 / 205
 Decrease 6
2013 809,664
62 / 205
 Increase 8

European Parliament

Election year # of votes % of votes # of seats won +/- Notes
1979 252,767 14.5 (#3)
3 / 16
1984 248,397 12.5 (#4)
2 / 16
 Decrease 1
1989 297,565 16.6 (#3)
3 / 16
 Increase 1
1994 394,362 19.0 (#1)
4 / 16
 Increase 1
1999 460,834 23.4 (#1)
5 / 16
 Increase 1
2004 366,734 19.4 (#2)
3 / 14
 Decrease 2
2009 474,041 20.2 (#2)
3 / 13
 Steady 0
2014 379,840 17.7 (#3)
2 / 13
 Decrease 1

Youth and student wings

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The party name is officially not translated into any other language, but is in English often referred to as the Liberal Party. Similar rules apply for the name of the party's youth wing Venstres Ungdom.

References

  1. 1 2 Parties and Elections in Europe: The database about parliamentary elections and political parties in Europe, by Wolfram Nordsieck
  2. ↑ Svante Ersson; Jan-Erik Lane (1998). Politics and Society in Western Europe. SAGE. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-7619-5862-8. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  3. 1 2 Josep M. Colomer (2008). Political Institutions in Europe. Routledge. p. 260. ISBN 978-1-134-07354-2.
  4. ↑ "AKVA3: Valg til regions råd efter område, parti og stemmer/kandidater/køn". Statistics Denmark. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  5. ↑ "VALGK3: Valg til kommunale råd efter område, parti og stemmer/kandidater/køn". Statistics Denmark. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  6. ↑ Emil Joseph Kirchner; Alistair H. Thomas (1988). Liberal Parties in Western Europe. Cambridge University Press. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-521-32394-9. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  7. ↑ Hans Slomp (2011). Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics: An American Companion to European Politics. ABC-CLIO. pp. 415, 420. ISBN 978-0-313-39182-8. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  8. ↑ Nanna Kildal; Stein Kuhnle (2007). Normative Foundations of the Welfare State: The Nordic Experience. Routledge. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-134-27283-9.
  9. ↑ Åsa Bengtsson; Kasper Hansen; Ólafur Þ Harõarson; Hanne Marthe Narud; Henrik Oscarsson (2013). The Nordic Voter: Myths of Exceptionalism. ECPR Press. p. 206. ISBN 978-1-907301-50-6.
  10. ↑ "Europavalg". DR. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  11. ↑ Dimitri Almeida (2012). The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties: Beyond the Permissive Consensus. Routledge. p. 98–. ISBN 978-0-415-69374-5.
  12. ↑ Almeida, Dimitri. "Liberal Parties and European Integration" (PDF).
  13. ↑ Esaiasson, Peter; Heidar, Knut (1999). Beyond Westminster and Congress: the Nordic experience. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. p. 377. ISBN 978-0-8142-0839-7.

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