Danish general election, 1988

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Danish general election, 1988

Flag of Denmark (state).svg


  1987 10 May 1988 1990  

All 179 seats to the Folketing
90 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout 85.3%

  First party Second party
  Svend-auken.jpg Poul Schluter portrait 2005.jpg
Leader Svend Auken Poul Schlüter
Party Social Democrats Conservative People's
Last election 54 seats, 29.3% 38 seats, 20.8%
Seats won 55 35
Seat changeIncrease2.svg1Decrease2.svg3
Popular vote 992,682 642,048
Percentage 29.8% 19.3%

Prime Minister before election

Poul Schlüter
Conservative People's

Prime Minister-elect

Poul Schlüter
Conservative People's

General elections were held in Denmark on 10 May 1988, [1] just seven months after the last elections. Prime Minister Poul Schlüter chose to call for an election after the Conservative People's Party-led government fell short of a majority in a foreign policy issue after they failed to come to an agreement with the Social Democrats. In a parliamentary debate Prime Minister Poul Schlüter accused the leader of the Social Democrats, Svend Auken, of breaking a political deal between the two of them, whilst Auken accused Schlüter of lying to the public.

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.

Poul Schlüter Danish politician

Poul Holmskov Schlüter is a Danish politician, who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1982 to 1993. He was the first member of the Conservative People's Party to become Prime Minister, as well as the first conservative to hold the office since 1901.

The Conservative People's Party, also known as the Conservatives is a conservative centre-right political party in Denmark. The party is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and International Democrat Union.

Contents

However, the election did not change the balance of power in the Folketing. Common Course failed to cross the 2% percent threshold and lost their four seats. The Centre Democrats and the Christian People's Party left the government (although they continued to support it) and were replaced by the Danish Social Liberal Party. The reason for doing this was that it gave Schlüter a majority in foreign policy issues, which had caused this election. The Centre Democrats and Christian People's Party continued to support the government though.

Common Course was a political party in Denmark, which held 4 seats in the Danish parliament Folketinget 1987-1988.

Centre Democrats (Denmark) Danish political party

The Centre Democrats was a Danish political party.

Danish Social Liberal Party Danish political party

The Danish Social Liberal Party is a social-liberal political party in Denmark. The party is a member of Liberal International and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE).

Voter turnout was 85.7% in Denmark proper, 70.3% in the Faroe Islands and 57.9% in Greenland. [2]

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.

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 992,68229.855+1
Conservative People's Party 642,04819.335–3
Socialist People's Party 433,26113.024–3
Venstre 394,19011.822+3
Progress Party 298,1329.016+7
Danish Social Liberal Party 185,7075.610–1
Centre Democrats 155,4644.790
Christian People's Party 68,0472.040
Common Course 63,2631.90–4
De Grønne 44,9601.400
Communist Party of Denmark 27,4390.800
Left Socialists 20,3030.600
Independents3,6330.100
Invalid/blank votes23,522
Total3,352,6511001750
Faroe Islands
People's Party 5,65524.710
Union Party 5,59724.41+1
Social Democratic Party 4,86121.20–1
Republican Party 4,69020.500
Self-Government Party 8973.900
Christian People's Party 8913.900
Progress Party3211.400
Invalid/blank votes100
Total23,01210020
Greenland
Siumut 8,41540.110
Atassut 8,13538.710
Inuit Ataqatigiit 3,62817.300
Polar Party 8213.900
Invalid/blank votes1,169
Total22,16810020
Source: Nohlen & Stöver
Popular vote
A
29.82%
C
19.29%
F
13.01%
V
11.84%
Z
8.96%
B
5.58%
D
4.67%
Q
2.04%
P
1.90%
G
1.35%
K
0.82%
Y
0.61%
Others
0.11%

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References

  1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p. 525 ISBN   978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. Nohlen & Stöver, p547

Further reading