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Danish Social Liberals press for more foreign labour in government talks

The centre-left Social Liberal party, a potential partner in a new coalition government, says it wants Denmark to increase its foreign workforce.

Published: 10 November 2022 17:15 CET
Danish Social Liberals press for more foreign labour in government talks
Martin Lidegaard, Katrine Robsøe and Samira Nawa (R) of the Social Liberal party at parliament on Thursday. The party wants Denmark to attract more foreign labour. Photo: Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix

Thursday’s talks over a new Danish government focused on the economy,  including how ongoing inflation should be responded to.

The Social Liberals, a financially liberal party which is progressive on social issues, wants more foreign labour to help bolster the economy be easing a labour shortage that is currently affecting the private and public sectors.

“It is still far too difficult for Denmark’s businesses to bring foreign labour to Denmark. There are trip wires everywhere, and we have a whole catalogue of proposals,” Social Liberal leader Martin Lidegaard said ahead of talks on Thursday.

“But this is actually also about the foreign labour we already have in Denmark, which is sitting and twiddling its thumbs at asylum centres or waiting for permission for family reunification with a Danish citizen,” he said.

“Today [under current rules] they are not allowed to work. Why is that?”, he said.

READ ALSO: How the dizzying cost of family reunification keeps Danes and foreign partners apart

The Social Liberals are one of three parties – the others are the Moderates and the Social Democrats – to be actively pursuing a centrist coalition government following last week’s election.

Because the Social Democrats are the largest party and their leader, caretaker prime minister Mette Frederiksen, is leading the talks, such a government remains a likely outcome of the election despite being a rare occurrence generally in Danish politics.

Earlier this week, Lidegaard said he wanted a new government to include the parties behind the “national compromise” political agreement from March this year. The agreement was backed by parties spanning the left and right of the Danish political centre.

READ ALSO: Denmark’s Social Liberal party calls for ‘national compromise’ government

“Maybe the most important message today is: Let’s get the negotiations progressing and try to create a strong, Danish broad government,” Lidegaard said on Thursday.

Currently, 11 of the 12 parliamentary parties remain involved in talks. Only the national conservative Denmark Democrats have so far withdrawn.

“In a way, there’s something very beautiful about the fact that everyone is still there and wants to be part of the process. But it’s certain that at some point, of course we have to move forwards,” Lidegaard said.

READ ALSO: Is there any progress on talks to form Danish government?

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POLITICS

Denmark’s Social Democrats overtaken by left-wing ally in new poll

The Socialist People’s Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti, SF) has become the party with the most support in Denmark for the first time in a new opinion poll.

Published: 24 June 2024 13:10 CEST
Denmark’s Social Democrats overtaken by left-wing ally in new poll

A new poll from Voxmeter places SF as Denmark’s largest party, should it be replicated in an election vote, with an 18.8 percent share of the vote.

The Social Democrats, traditionally the largest party on the left, received 18.4 percent in the poll. That represents a large drop in support compared to the 2022 general election, when the Social Democrats gained 27.5 percent and went into coalition government with two parties on the right of centre.

The poll result for SF gives it a share 8.3 percent larger than it gained in 2022 and continues the centre-left group’s recent success after becoming the largest Danish party in the EU parliament in the EU elections this month.

Speaking on EU election night, SF leader Pia Olsen Dyhr said the party’s excellent result could be used as a “catalyst” for a new political landscape in Denmark.

The EU election result can fuel further gains for SF when the next general election comes around, Dyhr said in the midst of her party’s celebrations.

“There’s an alternative to this government. There’s an alternative that wants [more] welfare and [to do more for] the climate and we are willing to deliver this in the EU parliament,” she told broadcaster DR.

“It gives us a tailwind and enthusiasm for the party and it means people will be even more ready for local elections next year and the general election further ahead,” she said.

READ ALSO: ANALYSIS: Is left-wing party’s EU election win good news for foreigners in Denmark?

Another notable observation from the poll is that is the worst for the Social Democrats since the 2022 election and since Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen became the party’s leader in 2015.

In 2013, when former leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt was prime minister, the party’s polls dropped as low as 15.8 percent, but they recovered after Frederiksen took over to win the 2019 election.

The other two parties in the coalition government – the Moderates and Liberals (Venstre) – are also struggling in opinion polls.

The new poll gives the Liberals 9.7 percent – compared to 14.7 percent at the EU election and 23.5 percent in 2019.

For the Moderates, the 6.5 percent polling is better than the 5.9 percent achieved by the party in the EU election, but less than the 9.3 percent it gained in 2023.

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