What are the main issues that Danish voters care about?
Political analysts said that, as elsewhere, domestic issues were at the top of the agenda. Voters are worried about the economy, including inflation, labor shortages and falling wages, especially in the health care system. And they care about environmental policy and climate change.
Less important are foreign policy issues, including war in Ukraine. The government has announced an increase in military spending and an escape from the traditional hesitancy to engage in European defense and security policy since the start of the war. That won’t change regardless of the election results, according to experts.
“Nothing outside Denmark’s borders has any effect on what Danes will vote on Tuesday,” said Jesper Claus Larsen, election analyst with Electica, a research organization. ” Jesper Claus Larsen, election analyst at Electica, a research organization. “Local issues are important to us,” he added.
Kasper M. Hansen, a professor of political science at the University of Copenhagen, has been critical of immigration, in part because the ruling Social Democrats have vowed to stay tough on migration. , disenfranchisement of far-right parties in one possible issue, said Kasper M. Hansen, professor of political science at the University of Copenhagen.
Denmark, which has some of the toughest anti-immigration laws in Europe, has passed a law allowing Ukrainian refugees to gain accelerated residency. But that has led many to point out the contrast to the way Denmark treats asylum seekers from Syria, who have languished for many months in deportation centers.
In general, the main parties have revolved around major disagreements on key topics, with the system fueling the need to seek consensus, Professor Hansen said. “They are really good at solving these problems,” he notes. Perhaps one result of that in this election, however, is that the personalities of the leaders have been enhanced.
Vote the party, but choose the leader.
While ostensibly voters will vote for one party, analysts say that will really come down to which Danish leader they prefer.
