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Danish Conservative leader Søren Pape Poulsen dies aged 52

Søren Pape Poulsen, the leader of the Danish Conservative party, has died aged 52 after suffering a brain haemorrhage.

Published: 2 March 2024 21:02 CET
Danish Conservative leader Søren Pape Poulsen dies aged 52
Danish Conservative party leader Søren Pape Poulsen has died aged 52. Photo: Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix

Poulsen was taken ill during a party leadership meeting in Jutland town Vejen on Friday and was taken to Odense University Hospital. His death was confirmed by the Conservative party to news wire Ritzau on Saturday evening.

His next of kin were able to see him before the news was made public, Ritzau writes.

Poulsen became leader of the Conservatives in 2014 and served as Minister of Justice under former Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen from 2016 until 2019.

In the 2022 general election, he ran as a candidate to become prime minister but his party suffered a disappointing election result, returning a 5.5 percent vote share.

He was mayor of central Jutland city Viborg before taking over as Conservative leader.

Conservative general secretary Søren Vandsø paid tribute to Poulsen in a message on the party’s website.

“He collapsed in the midst of what he dedicated his life to. A political life that sought to make life better for the rest of us. He was giving us an orientation on elderly policies and foreign policy observations and the last thing he saw was a round of applause from his party colleagues,” Vandsø said.

Vandsø also gave Poulsen’s time of death as 1:13pm on Saturday.

Deputy leader Michael Ziegler takes over as acting chairperson of the Conservatives, broadcaster DR reports. Ziegler, who is not an MP but is mayor of Høje-Taastrup, will not be the political leader.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen offered condolences to Poulsen’s family.

“Today, my thoughts go to Søren’s family who were so dear to him, and to the entire Conservative People’s Party. May Søren Pape Poulsen rest in peace,” Frederiksen said in a statement.

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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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