TY - CHAP

T1 - Bucking the trend

T2 - The extraordinary bounce back of the Danish center-left

AU - Nedergaard, Peter

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - The support for the Danish Social Democratic Party has declined from its historical peaks, but it has managed to maintain the stable backing of approximately 25 percent of the voters over the last 15 years. If the Party attracts a sufficient number of voters in its traditional working-class base, there is a Center-Left government. If that is not the case, the Center-Right assumes power. The refusal of the Social Democrats to acknowledge the negative effects of immigration is often said to be a strong cause explaining the decline of the European Center-Left. In Denmark, however, after 2015 with Mette Frederiksen as head of the Social Democratic Party, the Party has been very clear about the negative effects of immigration, not least for the working class and the neighborhoods where the working class mainly live. Besides, the Party has profoundly changed its policy line from a liberal to a restrictive immigration policy. The change seems to be the most decisive factor explaining why the Danish Social Democratic Party has not suffered from a decline in recent years, why it has regained executive power.

AB - The support for the Danish Social Democratic Party has declined from its historical peaks, but it has managed to maintain the stable backing of approximately 25 percent of the voters over the last 15 years. If the Party attracts a sufficient number of voters in its traditional working-class base, there is a Center-Left government. If that is not the case, the Center-Right assumes power. The refusal of the Social Democrats to acknowledge the negative effects of immigration is often said to be a strong cause explaining the decline of the European Center-Left. In Denmark, however, after 2015 with Mette Frederiksen as head of the Social Democratic Party, the Party has been very clear about the negative effects of immigration, not least for the working class and the neighborhoods where the working class mainly live. Besides, the Party has profoundly changed its policy line from a liberal to a restrictive immigration policy. The change seems to be the most decisive factor explaining why the Danish Social Democratic Party has not suffered from a decline in recent years, why it has regained executive power.

U2 - 10.4324/9781003275206-9

DO - 10.4324/9781003275206-9

M3 - Book chapter

AN - SCOPUS:85138534174

SN - 9781003275206

SP - 170

EP - 190

BT - The Resistible Corrosion of Europe's Center-Left After 2008

A2 - Menz, Georg

PB - Taylor & Francis

CY - London

ER -