Has Denmark’s green Alternative party reached the end of the road?
Recent poll results suggest the Alternative party, which entered the Danish parliament on a green political platform in 2015, may be running out of time to ensure its ongoing survival.
The Alternative scored a meagre 0.5 points in a recent opinion poll conducted by Voxmeter on behalf of news agency Ritzau. To qualify for parliamentary representation, a party must reach a threshold of 2 percent in the general election.
Denmark last voted in a general election in 2019, meaning the next vote will take place in 2023.
“(Alternative) has been nowhere near the threshold for a very long time and their chances (of retaining seats in parliament) must be equal to zero,” said Erik Holstein, political commentator with media Altinget.
The party currently holds one of parliament’s 179 seats. Its leader, Franciska Rosenkilde, is not a member of parliament. Rosenkilde is head of the culture and leisure section at the Copenhagen Municipality, an elected post.
Co-founders Uffe Elbæk and Josephine Fock other prominent names including Copenhagen politician Sikandar Siddique have all left the party since the last general election.
“The party doesn’t really have any names that can mark out the agenda they broke through with,” Holstein said.
“And the green agenda has unfortunately now been taken on by so many other parties that there’s no need to vote for Alternative for (an environmental) reason,” he continued.
Even though the party’s days could be numbered, it has already left a mark on Danish politics by help setting a green agenda, according to Holstein.
“They were the first with the 70 percent target (for emissions reduction),” he said.
“It’s a big political win for them that this has become mainstream at Christiansborg (parliament),” he added.
READ ALSO: Five reasons why Denmark is no frontrunner in the battle against climate change
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The Alternative scored a meagre 0.5 points in a recent opinion poll conducted by Voxmeter on behalf of news agency Ritzau. To qualify for parliamentary representation, a party must reach a threshold of 2 percent in the general election.
Denmark last voted in a general election in 2019, meaning the next vote will take place in 2023.
“(Alternative) has been nowhere near the threshold for a very long time and their chances (of retaining seats in parliament) must be equal to zero,” said Erik Holstein, political commentator with media Altinget.
The party currently holds one of parliament’s 179 seats. Its leader, Franciska Rosenkilde, is not a member of parliament. Rosenkilde is head of the culture and leisure section at the Copenhagen Municipality, an elected post.
Co-founders Uffe Elbæk and Josephine Fock other prominent names including Copenhagen politician Sikandar Siddique have all left the party since the last general election.
“The party doesn’t really have any names that can mark out the agenda they broke through with,” Holstein said.
“And the green agenda has unfortunately now been taken on by so many other parties that there’s no need to vote for Alternative for (an environmental) reason,” he continued.
Even though the party’s days could be numbered, it has already left a mark on Danish politics by help setting a green agenda, according to Holstein.
“They were the first with the 70 percent target (for emissions reduction),” he said.
“It’s a big political win for them that this has become mainstream at Christiansborg (parliament),” he added.
READ ALSO: Five reasons why Denmark is no frontrunner in the battle against climate change
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