Danish general election, 1973

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Danish general election, 1973

Flag of Denmark (state).svg


  1971 4 December 1973 1975  

All 179 seats to the Folketing
90 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout 88.3%

  First party Second party
  Anker-jorgensen-cropped.jpg
Leader Anker Jørgensen Mogens Glistrup
Party Social Democrats Progress
Last election 70 seats, 37.3%New
Seats won 46 28
Seat changeDecrease2.svg24Increase2.svg28
Popular vote 783,145 485,289
Percentage 25.6% 15.9%

Prime Minister before election

Anker Jørgensen
Social Democrats

Prime Minister-elect

Poul Hartling
Venstre

General elections were held in Denmark on 4 December 1973 and in the Faroe Islands on 13 December. [1] [2] It has since been referred to as the Landslide Election (Danish : Jordskredsvalget), [3] as five new or previously unrepresented parties won seats, and more than half the members of the parliament were replaced. The Social Democratic Party, which had led a minority government until this election, lost a third of their seats. After the election Poul Hartling, the leader of the liberal Venstre, formed the smallest minority government in Denmark's history with only 22 seats, supported by the Progress Party, the Conservative People's Party, the Social Liberal Party, the Centre Democrats and the Christian People's Party.

Denmark constitutional monarchy in Europe

Denmark, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, is a Nordic country and the southernmost of the Scandinavian nations. Denmark lies southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and is bordered to the south by Germany. The Kingdom of Denmark also comprises two autonomous constituent countries in the North Atlantic Ocean: the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Denmark proper consists of a peninsula, Jutland, and an archipelago of 443 named islands, with the largest being Zealand, Funen and the North Jutlandic Island. The islands are characterised by flat, arable land and sandy coasts, low elevation and a temperate climate. Denmark has a total area of 42,924 km2 (16,573 sq mi), land area of 42,394 km2 (16,368 sq mi), and the total area including Greenland and the Faroe Islands is 2,210,579 km2 (853,509 sq mi), and a population of 5.8 million.

Faroe Islands Autonomus constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark

The Faroe Islands, or the Faeroe Islands—a North Atlantic archipelago located 200 miles (320 km) north-northwest of the United Kingdom and about halfway between Norway and Iceland—are an autonomous country of the Kingdom of Denmark. Total area is about 1,400 square kilometres (540 sq mi) with a population of 50,322 in October 2017.

Danish language North Germanic language spoken in Denmark

Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in Denmark and in the region of Southern Schleswig in northern Germany, where it has minority language status. Also, minor Danish-speaking communities are found in Norway, Sweden, Spain, the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Argentina. Due to immigration and language shift in urban areas, around 15–20% of the population of Greenland speak Danish as their first language.

Voter turnout was 88.7% in Denmark proper, 54.6% in the Faroe Islands and 66.0% in Greenland. [4]

Greenland autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark

Greenland is an autonomous constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for more than a millennium. The majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors began migrating from the Canadian mainland in the 13th century, gradually settling across the island.

Results

Denmark
PartyVotes+/–%Seats+/–
Social Democratic Party 783,14525.6-11.746–24
Progress Party 485,28915.9+15.928New
Venstre 374,28312.3-3.322–8
Danish Social Liberal Party 343,11711.2-3.120–7
Conservative People's Party 279,3919.2-7.516–15
Centre Democrats 236,7847.8+7.814New
Socialist People's Party 183,5226.0-3.111–6
Christian People's Party 123,5734.0+27+7
Communist Party of Denmark 110,7153.6+2.26+6
Justice Party of Denmark 87,9042.9+1.25+5
Left Socialists 44,8431.5-0.100
Independents6370.000
Invalid/blank votes17,050
Total3,070,2531001750
Faroe Islands
Social Democratic Party 3,77228.610
Republican Party 3,31225.11New
People's Party 2,69020.40–1
Union Party 2,53319.200
Self-Government Party 5534.200
Progress Party 2582.000
Independents720.500
Invalid/blank votes47
Total13,23710020
Greenland
Independents15,86910020
Invalid/blank votes512
Total16,38110020
Source: Nohlen & Stöver
Popular vote
A
25.65%
Z
15.89%
V
12.26%
B
11.24%
C
9.15%
M
7.76%
F
6.01%
Q
4.05%
K
3.63%
E
2.88%
Y
1.47%
Others
0.02%

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References

  1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p524 ISBN   978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. Denmark Inter-Parliamentary Union
  3. Jespersen, KJV A History of Denmark
  4. Nohlen & Stöver, p544