Enhedslisten - de rød-grønne

Enhedslists
Party leader	(collective)
Group chairmanship in the Folketing	Per Clausen
Political spokeswoman	Pernille Skipper
founding	1989
Alignment	Socialism , eco-socialism , green politics , EU skepticism
Headquarters	Copenhagen
Number of members	9,335 (2016)
Youth association	Socialistisk Ungdomsfront
Electoral list	O
Sit in the Folketing	13/179
International connections	MLP EAL
MEPs	1/14
European party	European left
EP Group	GUE / NGL
www.enhedslisten.dk

Old logo

Enhedslisten - De rød-grønne ( EL ), dan. for unit list - The Red-Greens , is a socialist and green party in Denmark . It is considered a radical left and is counted in the Danish center-left bloc in elections .

Since the Folketing elections in 2019 , it has been the sixth largest political party in Denmark and supports the minority government of social democrat Mette Frederiksen .

History and program

The unified list was first created in 1989 as an electoral alliance of the Communist Party ( Danmarks Kommunistiske Parti , DKP), the left- wing socialists ( Venstresocialisterne , VS), the Socialist Workers' Party ( Socialistisk Arbejderparti , SAP, the Danish section of the United Secretariat ) and the left wing; the former Maoist and now dissolved Communist Workers' Party ( Kommunistisk Arbejderparti , KAP) was added in 1991, the Active Socialist Forum ( Aktivt Socialistisk Forum , ASF) in 1997. The old disputes between Moscow-loyal communists, Trotskyists and Maoists only had the made life and governance easier for civil parties. In the 1970s and 1980s in particular, there was a veritable sectarian guerrilla warfare within the radical left . The tense relationship only improved with the amalgamation of a common electoral list. After a transitional phase, this electoral association was transformed into an independent party.

In the 1990s the EL played an important role in Danish politics. It was part of the parliamentary basis of the social democratic minority governments under Poul Nyrup Rasmussen . Their votes in the Folketing repeatedly tipped the scales , Nyrup Rasmussen could not automatically count on them. From 2001 to 2011, while the center-right parties had an independent majority in parliament, the EL remained limited to a purely opposition role.

Central program points of the EL are social issues, the clear opposition to the EU, a real integration of foreigners and the rejection of any war missions by the Danish military. As a result, the EL came into opposition to the social democratic government as early as the 1990s. a. defended the Kosovo war . In German political science, the party is sometimes assigned to the radical left spectrum. This assessment relates to their revolutionary-socialist program, existing collaborations with Maoist and Trotskyist groups and a previously avoided demarcation from autonomous and militant anti-fascist groups.

For the party congress in May 2012, the party executive presented the strategic concept “Targets 2012–2016”. It suggests a revision of the party program, for example the wording, "to replace central areas of the state apparatus with organs of people's power", seems worthy of change. The socialist development of society, the democratization and collectivization of economic life remains the overarching goal of the EL.

Relationship to the previous Thorning-Schmidt government

After the clear success in the Folketing elections in 2011 , the EL was initially part of the parliamentary basis of the Thorning-Schmidt government . The party leadership campaigned for a strategic realignment from the resolute protest party to the pragmatic “party of influence”. Group leader Clausen emphasized that the core issues remained unchanged: employment, living conditions of the people, a sustainable climate and environmental policy. The EL sees itself as the basis of the center-left government, but at the same time sees itself as an alternative to it.

After the Thorning-Schmidt government agreed on a tax reform for 2013 with Venstre and conservatives on June 22, 2012, the unified list terminated its cooperation with the government. Overthrowing the government was not considered. Contrary to expectations, the unified rail approved the Thorning-Schmidt government's budget for 2013. In the 2015 Folketing election , the Enhedsliste improved to 7.8% of the 14 seats, but the minority government and its supporters lost their parliamentary majority and the Enhedsliste only remained in the opposition.

Tolerating the Fredriksen government

In the 2019 Folketing Elections, the Enhedliste suffered slight losses to 6.9% of the votes and 13 seats, but thanks to the gains of the social liberal radicals Venstre and the Socialistisk Folkeparti , the “red bloc” was able to win the majority. Again the Social Democrats formed a minority government, now under Mette Frederiksen , which is supported by the Enhedsliste, the Radicals Venstre and the Socialistisk Folkeparti in parliament.

structure

The majority of EL members are male, especially in the age groups between 20 and 30 and over 50. By contrast, a good sixty percent of EL voters are women. However, the demographic structure is very different from region to region.

According to the party, the number of members grew from 1,189 in 1995 to 6,200 at the end of 2011. In the second half of 2012, the party should have around 8,500 members.

The unity list has no party chairman, but is managed collectively. The highest body between the annual party congresses is the 25-member board. He elects an executive committee from among his ranks. a. is responsible for current political statements. In March 2009 the office of political spokeswoman was awarded for the first time .

Contacts and the European party

The EL has been a full member of the European Left Party since 2010 . She also works with the European Anti-Capitalist Left (EAL), which, however, has suffered a decline in importance in the past.

The youth organization “Sozialistische Jugendfront” ( Socialistisk UngdomsFront , SUF), which is related to the EL, was founded in 2001 and in 2012 had around 1,500 members.

Election results

Folketing

Folk election	be right	percent	Mandates
1990	54.038	1.7	0
1994	104,701	3.1	6th
1998	91,933	2.7	5
2001	82,685	2.4	4th
2005	111.394	3.4	6th
2007	74,671	2.2	4th
2011	236,982	6.7	12
2015	273,870	7.7	14th
2019	245,100	6.9	13

Regional councils and municipalities

At the middle political level (see regions ) the EL was only represented in the regional council of the Copenhagen region in 2009 . In addition, the EL held mandates in 13 of the 98 municipalities . She achieved her best results in Copenhagen with 10.9 percent of the vote, in Gladsaxe with 7.1 and in Albertslund with 6.9 percent.

With the local and regional elections on November 19, 2013, the picture changed significantly. The EL is now represented in 79 out of 98 municipalities, plus in all regional parliaments. The best election result was achieved in Copenhagen, where the party received 19.5 percent.

European Parliament

Enhedslisten did not run for European elections until 2019 , but supported the Folkebevægelsen mod EU , which was affiliated with the Europeans United for Democracy at European level and belonged to the GUE / NGL group in the European Parliament . In the 2019 European elections , the Enhedslisten stood for the first time and received a seat, while Folkebevægelsen mod EU lost their last seat and will not be represented in the EU Parliament for the first time in 40 years.

people

• Asmaa Abdol-Hamid , social worker
• Ole Krarup , former MEP
• Søren Søndergaard , MEP
• Mikkel Warming, Mayor of Copenhagen 2005–2013 and Head of Social Services

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Membership figures 2016 Folketingets Oplysning, accessed on October 28, 2018.
2. ↑ Tim Spier, Clemens Wirries: An exception or normality? Left parties in Western Europe . In: Die Linkspartei: Contemporary idea or alliance without a future . VS Verlag, Wiesbaden 2007, ISBN 978-3-531-14941-7 , p. 71–116, at p. 102 ( online at GoogleBooks [accessed September 26, 2011]).
3. ^ Luke March: Radical Left Parties in Europe . Routledge, Abingdon (Oxon) 2011, ISBN 978-0-415-42560-5 .
4. ^ ^{A b} Thomas Schubert: Extremism in Denmark . In: Eckhard Jesse , Tom Thieme (ed.): Extremism in the EU countries . VS Verlag, Wiesbaden 2011, ISBN 978-3-531-17065-7 , pp. 65-81, at pp. 76-77 .
5. ↑ The unit list wants to get bigger (Danish) Jyllandsposten, January 16, 2012, accessed on January 16, 2012
6. ↑ Marie Sæhl, Niklas Rehn: Enhedslisten: We are no longer a firm pillar of the government (Danish) ( Memento of the original from June 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Politiken.dk, June 22, 2012 
7. ↑ Kaare Sørensen: Enhedslisten: We are no longer a solid pillar of the government (Danish) Jyllands-Posten.dk, June 22, 2012
8. ^ EL in turmoil: Government support withdrawn (Danish) Information.dk, June 22, 2012
9. ↑ New members stream to the unit list (Danish) ( Memento of the original from June 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Politiken.dk, June 23, 2012  
10. ↑ Become a member ( Memento of the original dated May 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Website of the Socialist Youth Front, accessed on June 24, 2012 
11. ↑ KMD valg , results of the 2009 regional council election, accessed on August 10, 2011.
12. ↑ KMD valg , municipal election results 2009, accessed on August 10, 2011.
13. ↑ http://www.kmdvalg.dk/main

Web links

• Enhedslisten Official Website