Denmark election tipped to oust rightwing government

Helle Thorning-Schmidt expected to lead centre-left coalition into power and become Denmark’s first female prime minister Ten years of rightwing rule that have turned Denmark into the most closed country in Europe for immigrants looks likely to end this week, with a Social Democrat tipped to become the Danes’ first female prime minister. Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the daughter-in-law of Neil and Glenys Kinnock, looks set to head a new centre-left coalition, replacing the Liberal leader, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, whose minority government has been propped up for the past decade by the far-right anti-immigrant and europhobic Danish People’s party (DPP). The Social Democrats are struggling in the opinion polls and may lose votes and seats in the 179-seat parliament in Copenhagen, but her four-party “red” coalition is expected to nudge ahead of the coalescing liberals and conservatives. The latest polls ahead of Thursday’s general election give the centre-left a margin of victory of between three and 10 seats. A victory for the centre-left would wrest the kingmaker status from the DPP, which has leveraged its support for the current government to drive legislation on immigration and asylum. The DPP has tried to ratchet up the debate over migration and border controls, but in the run-up to the election the issue has been overshadowed by Denmark’s struggling economy. “With the economic crisis as the backdrop we find ourselves in the middle of a completely different election from what we have seen in many years,” said Thomas Larsen, a political commentator writing in the Berlingske newspaper. “Gone is the talk of value-based politics. Gone is the often heated and emotional debate about justice and immigration policies, which were such a big part of the elections in 2001, 2005 and 2007. Today the political battle is about three things – economy, economy and economy.” A Social-Democrat-led government might serve as a tonic for the centre-left across Europe, which has failed to come up with attractive policies in response to the financial and economic crisis since 2008 or to the potent issues of Islam and immigration, ceding traditional working-class support to populist far-right movements. If Thorning-Schmidt fails to secure the Danish premiership on Thursday, her six-year spell as Social Democrat leader may be over. Dubbed Gucci Helle by her opponents and the tabloid press because of her expensive tastes and privileged pedigree, she has struggled to shrug off doubts about her leadership credibility. She appeared on Danish television this week at home with her family, in an attempt to burnish her image. Her husband, Stephen Kinnock, a director of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland and former British Council official, said he had taken over the cooking, cleaning and child-minding during the campaign. The Danish press have raised questions about the couple’s tax affairs. Last year tax inspectors cleared them of tax avoidance after tabloid allegations that Kinnock was exploiting his employment in Switzerland to pay his taxes there at about a quarter of the rate in Denmark where he was said to be mainly resident. New allegations were aired this week concerning tax on the couple’s properties. It is unclear whether the allegations will have any impact on Thursday’s election. Danes are eager voters, with turnouts of up to 90%. The economy will be the key issue. In a country boasting some of the highest living standards in the world, the economy is stagnant, the budget deficit is set to soar to almost 5% this year, and job losses have been high. Thorning-Schmidt has promised a new era of public investment in welfare, education, and infrastructure. The government is preaching austerity and public spending cuts, the general trend across a Europe dominated by the centre-right. Denmark The far right Europe Ian Traynor Lars Eriksen guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 14, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.