Christian Democrats (Denmark)

The Christian Democrats (Danish: Kristendemokraterne) are a political party in Denmark. The party was founded in April 1970 as the Christian People's Party (Kristeligt Folkeparti)[3] to oppose the liberalization of restrictions on pornography and the legalization of abortion.[4][5] The party renamed itself to its current name in 2003.[3] Originally, the party was not considered part of the European Christian-democratic tradition, and it was better known as a religious conservative party.[6]

Christian Democrats

Kristendemokraterne
ChairmanIsabella Arendt
Founded13 April 1970
HeadquartersVermlandsgade 51
2300 København S
Youth wingKDup
IdeologyChristian democracy[1]
Social conservatism
Environmentalism[2]
Political positionCentre[1] to centre-right[1]
European affiliationEuropean People's Party
International affiliationCentrist Democrat International
ColoursOrange
Folketing
0 / 179
Regional councils
1 / 205
Municipal councils
9 / 2,432
Election symbol
K
Website
www.kd.dk

The Christian Democrats are a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and the Centrist Democrat International.

History

The party was formed in 1970.[7] Since its inception, the party has enjoyed an intermittent presence in the Parliament of Denmark, rarely winning much more than the two percent minimum required to gain seats under Denmark's proportional representation system, and frequently falling below the threshold, as has happened in every election from the 2005 parliamentary election onwards. Despite its small size, the party has served in a number of coalition governments. From 1982 to 1988, it was in coalition with the Liberal Party, Conservative People's Party and Centre Democrats; from 1993 to 1994, it served in government with the Social Democrats, the Social Liberals and the Centre Democrats.[5]

From 2002 to 2005, the party was led by Marianne Karlsmose. The name of the party was changed to the Christian Democrats in 2003. In October 2005, the party elected Bodil Kornbek as its new chairman.[8] Her attempt to introduce a more secular centre-left profile had some success in the beginning, but the party once again failed to win seats in the 2007 elections. In October 2008, Kornbek was replaced by Bjarne Hartung Kirkegaard from its more conservative and religious wing.

In 2010, the Christian Democrats regained parliamentary representation when the Independent former Conservative MP Per Ørum Jørgensen joined the party. Since he was not formerly known for having expressed opinions based on Christianity, these events once more softened the religious character of the party.

On 30 June 2011, it was announced that the Christian Democrats had started cooperating with Fælleslisten, a single-issue party fighting for decentralization, especially in health care policy, with some success in regional and local elections. This means that candidates from the two parties appeared on a joint list at the 2011 Danish parliamentary election. The Christian Democrats had themselves taken a somewhat regionalist stance at a moment when Fælleslisten had surged in opinion polls.

In September 2012, Per Ørum Jørgensen resigned and subsequently left the party altogether in order to form a new party called the Democratic Party. Egon Jakobsen was appointed as interim chairman, and on 27 October 2012, the former deputy chairman Stig Grenov was elected as new chairman.

Christian Democratic Politicians

Party chairmen

Ministers

Election results

Parliament (Folketing)
Date Votes Seats
# % ± pp # ±
1971 57,072 1.9% +1.9
0 / 179
 New
1973 123,573 4.0% +2.1
7 / 179
 7
1975 162,734 5.3% +1.3
9 / 179
 2
1977 106,082 3.4% −1.9
6 / 179
 3
1979 82,133 2.6% −0.8
5 / 179
 1
1981 72,174 2.3% −0.3
4 / 179
 1
1984 91,623 2.7% +0.4
5 / 179
 1
1987 79,664 2.4% −0.3
4 / 179
 1
1988 68,047 2.0% −0.4
4 / 179
 0
1990 74,174 2.3% +0.3
4 / 179
 0
1994 61,507 1.9% −0.4
0 / 179
 4
1998 85,656 2.5% +0.6
4 / 179
 4
2001 78,793 2.3% −0.2
4 / 179
 0
2005 58,071 1.7% −0.6
0 / 179
 4
2007 30,013 0.9% −0.8
0 / 179
 0
2011 28,070 0.8% −0.1
0 / 179
 0
2015 29,077 0.8% 0.0
0 / 179
 0
2019 61,215 1.7% +0.9
0 / 179
 0

Municipal elections
Date Seats
# ±
1974
37 / 4,735
 New
1978
28 / 4,759
 9
1981
27 / 4,769
 1
1985
33 / 4,773
 6
1989
45 / 4,737
 12
1993
32 / 4,703
 13
1997
30 / 4,685
 2
2001
31 / 4,647
 1
2005
15 / 2,522
 16
2009
6 / 2,468
 9
2013
6 / 2,444
 0
2017
9 / 2,432
 3

County & Regional elections
Date Votes Seats
# ±
1974 71.787
9 / 370
 New
1978 52.201
5 / 370
 4
1981 46.425
6 / 370
 1
1985 47.847
6 / 374
 0
1989 49,084
7 / 374
 1
1993 44,938
5 / 374
 2
1997 44,154
2 / 374
 3
2001 55,683
4 / 374
 2
2005 47,862
2 / 205
 2
2009 23,170
0 / 205
 2
2013 25,281
0 / 205
 0
2017 26,082
1 / 205
 1

European Parliament elections
Date Votes Seats
# % ± pp # ±
1979 30.985 1.8% +1.8
0 / 15
 New
1984 54.624 2.7% +2.7
0 / 15
 0
1989 47.768 2.7% 0.0
0 / 16
 0
1994 22.986 1.1% −1.6
0 / 16
 0
1999 39.128 2.0% +0.9
0 / 16
 0
2004 24.286 1.3% −0.7
0 / 14
 0
2009–
Did not run.

Further reading
  • Madeley, John T.S. (2004). "Life at the Northern Margin: Christian Democracy in Scandinavia". In Steven Van Hecke; Emmanuel Gerard (eds.). Christian Democratic Parties in Europe Since the End of the Cold War. Leuven University Press. pp. 217–241. ISBN 90-5867-377-4.

References
  1. Henningsen, Bernd; Etzold, Tobias; Hanne, Krister, eds. (15 September 2017). The Baltic Sea Region: A Comprehensive Guide: History, Politics, Culture and Economy of a European Role Model. Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag. p. 325. ISBN 978-3-8305-1727-6.
  2. https://www.information.dk/indland/2019/05/kristendemokraternes-vikar-himlen-enhedslisten-mest-fornuftige-klimapolitik
  3. André Krouwel (1 December 2012). Party Transformations in European Democracies. SUNY Press. p. 298. ISBN 978-1-4384-4481-9.
  4. Isabelle Engeli; Christoffer Green-Pedersen; Lars Thorup Larsen (7 August 2012). Morality Politics in Western Europe: Parties, Agendas and Policy Choices. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-230-30933-3.
  5. Åsa Bengtsson; Kasper Hansen; Ólafur Þ Harõarson; Hanne Marthe Narud; Henrik Oscarsson (15 November 2013). The Nordic Voter: Myths of Exceptionalism. ECPR Press. p. 206. ISBN 978-1-907301-50-6.
  6. Cook, Chris; Francis, Mary (1979). The first European elections: A handbook and guide. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 0-333-26575-0.
  7. Western Europe 2003. Psychology Press. 30 November 2002. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-85743-152-0. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  8. Ritzau (31 October 2005). "Bodil Kornbek ny formand for Kristendemokraterne". Information. Dagbladet Information. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
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