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Danish government party hits worst poll figures for 15 months

Ritzau/The Local
Ritzau/The Local - [email protected]
Danish government party hits worst poll figures for 15 months
Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. Photo: Ólafur Steinar Gestsson/Ritzau Scanpix

The Liberal (Venstre) party, the senior partner in Denmark’s coalition government, has posted its worst figures since July 2017 in a new opinion poll.

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The poll figures can be seen as a disappointment for Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen’s party after a series of political plans, including next year’s budget along with climate and skilled foreign labour packages, were presented during the early autumn.

The poll, conducted by Voxmeter on behalf of Ritzau, found that 17.3 percent of voters currently support the Liberal party.

That represents a 2.2 point decline since the 2015 general election and the lowest level of support the party has enjoyed since July last year.

Should current projections bear out at next year’s election, the Liberals would see their parliamentary representation shrink from 34 to 31 seats.

The party’s political spokesperson Britt Bager said she did not concern herself with opinion polls.

“Polls tend to go up and down. Sometimes they go up a bit, sometimes they go down a bit. The only poll that counts is the one on election day,” Bager said.

“I am using my energy on politics and solutions that create better everyday lives for Danes,” she added, noting that private sector employment has risen by 152,000 jobs since her party took over government.

Coalition partner the Conservative party will maintain its current six seats despite a small loss of votes, according to the latest projection.

Liberal Alliance, the third party in government, scored 6.4 points in the poll, its best result since December last year.

The environmentalist Alternative party, which is normally part of the ‘red bloc’ of left and centre-left parties in opposition to the current government, is projected to gain ten seats.

But Alternative has said it will not support Social Democrat leader Mette Frederiksen, the nominal prime minister in a red bloc victory, leaving – without Alternative’s seats – a slender margin of 83 seats to 82 in favour of a Frederiksen victory over Rasmussen, according to the Voxmeter poll.

A general election must be called by the prime minister no later than June 17th next year.

READ ALSO: Danish government presents plan to recruit skilled foreign labour

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