Denmark votes new government, first woman leader

[Bosonic]

Source: Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Copenhagen - Denmark voted Thursday for a change of government and its first woman prime minister, ending the centre-right government's 10 years in office, projections said.

With 60 per cent of the votes tallied, the left-leaning opposition bloc was on 89 seats compared to the government's 86.

That result would end an era. Denmark has since 2001 been led by a centre-right minority government of Liberals and Conservatives which will have to vacate the government offices in favour of opposition leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt of the Social Democrats.

Read more: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1663258.php/Denmark-votes-new-government-first-woman-leader

[pacalo]

1. I like her name: Helle Thornton-Schmidt.

Give 'em hell, Helle!

[sam11111]

3. Europewide shift begun ? what dynamics got the win?

Nt

[dorksied]

2. Can we do this in the USA?

Put it to a vote over the entire country... to reform our government from the top down, eliminating corruption and putting in place a government that serves everyone, not just the rich?

[Yon_Yonson]

5. Social Democracy ... Not in our lifetime

It's taken us over 300 years to misunderstand the word democracy and the majority of Americans hate and are afraid of the word socialism.

[bemildred]

4. +1. nt

[Yon_Yonson]

6. Leave it up to ‘lille Danmark’ to set the pace

Left-wing bloc’s victory gives Danes their first female PM
jan m. olsen AND karl ritter
COPENHAGEN— Globe and Mail Update
Published Thursday, Sep. 15, 2011 5:53PM EDT
Last updated Thursday, Sep. 15, 2011 8:18PM EDT

Denmark has elected its first female prime minister, ousting the right-wing government from power after 10 years of pro-market reforms and ever-stricter controls on immigration.

Near complete official results showed Thursday that a left-leaning bloc led by Social Democrat Helle Thorning-Schmidt would gain a narrow majority in the 179-seat Parliament.

“We did it. Make no mistake: We have written history,” the 44-year-old opposition leader told jubilant supporters in Copenhagen. “Today there's a change of guards in Denmark.”

Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen conceded defeat, saying he would present his Cabinet's resignation Friday to Queen Margrethe, Denmark's monarch.

“So tonight I hand over the keys to the prime minister's office to Helle Thorning-Schmidt. And dear Helle, take good care of them. You're only borrowing them,” Mr. Loekke Rasmussen said.


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/europe/danish-government-will-resign-pm-says-after-conceding-election/article2167826/

[FailureToCommunicate]

7. Tillykke Denmark!

[lbrtbell]

13. Jeg elsker Danmark!

Now, if we can only get this shift moving toward the UK....

[pampango]

8. Salon: Danish prime minister concedes defeat in election

Denmark elected its first female prime minister Thursday, ousting the right-wing government from power after 10 years of pro-market reforms and ever-stricter controls on immigration. ... A majority for the "red bloc" also deprives the anti-immigration Danish People's Party of the kingmaker role it has used to tighten Denmark's borders and stem the flow of asylum-seekers.

A power shift isn't likely to yield major changes in consensus-oriented Denmark, where there is broad agreement on the need for a robust welfare system financed by high taxes. Thorning-Schmidt, 44, wants to protect the welfare system by raising taxes on the rich and extending the average working day by 12 minutes.

The economy emerged as the top election theme, to the chagrin of the Danish People's Party, which has used its kingmaker role in previous elections to push through immigration laws that are among Europe's toughest.

Thorning-Schmidt has promised to overhaul a system of beefed-up customs controls at borders with Germany and Sweden, which critics say violates the spirit of EU agreements on the free movement of people and goods.

http://www.salon.com/wires/world/2011/09/15/D9PP74EG1_eu_denmark_election/

Nice to see the right wing DPP lose its influence on the government. Its efforts to tighten Denmark's traditionally open borders will soon be history though they will undoubtedly still play the "scary Muslim immigrant" card even more now that they are in the opposition.

[CBHagman]

9. Wow!

Thanks for the update. I've been missing out on most aspects of the Euro-news lately.

[marasinghe]

10. excellent. if a liberal woman had been prime minister of Denmark in 2003 ....

the bush-ape would, in all probability, have had one less willing partner in his gang of mass-murdering War Criminals.

[stockholmer]

11. mycket bra!!!!! maybe now the Danes stop this border shake-down nonsense with us and Germany

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/16/world/europe/denmark-to-be-led-by-its-first-female-premier-as-leftists-win.html

The Social Democrats’ campaign was based on Ms. Thorning-Schmidt’s promises to raise taxes on Denmark’s banks and its wealthiest citizens to pay for better schools and hospitals, and to finance a $4 billion expansion of what is already one of Europe’s most generous welfare systems.

Her most headline-catching nod to austerity came with her proposal to add 12 minutes to the average Dane’s working day, and she also acknowledged the need to take action on the deficit, which is set to rise to 4.6 percent of gross domestic product in 2012, well above the European average.

snip

------------------------------------------------------------
This is how the left (and all of us) win. Come on America, get a honest candidate (Bernie Sanders, etc) and roll like this! Tax and jail the banking scum, end the goddamn empiric wars, rebuild your infrastructure, single payer health care for all, nationalize the Fed, issue successive trillion dollar tranches of zero percent loans to small and medium businesses, go to public financing of campaigns, etc etc.

:bounce:

[midnight]

12. Another great thing the Danish lead on. The also have first rate

retirement care for the elderly. And the thumbing of their noses to Hitler by the whole country wearing a stare of David on their arms in support of the Jews....

[pampango]

14. NYT: Denmark to Be Led by Its First Female Premier as Leftists Win

A closely contested election in Denmark resulted in victory on Thursday for a center-left coalition led by the Social Democratic Party, ending a 10-year run in power for a center-right coalition that adopted some of Europe’s toughest immigration controls.

For Denmark, a nation of 5.5 million people, the election turned on the issue that has also divided many other Western nations struggling with low growth, large government deficits and historic levels of national debt: what mix of government spending and tax policies to adopt in order to restore economic health and avoid slipping further toward a crisis like Greece’s.

The Social Democrats’ campaign was based on Ms. Thorning-Schmidt’s promises to raise taxes on Denmark’s banks and its wealthiest citizens to pay for better schools and hospitals, and to finance a $4 billion expansion of what is already one of Europe’s most generous welfare systems.

The anti-immigration Danish People’s Party, which formed the third-largest bloc in the previous Parliament, won 22 seats, down 3 seats from 2007. It will become an opposition party, and Pia Kjaersgaard, the party’s leader, said it would oppose any relaxation of immigration controls. The party successfully pushed for Denmark’s withdrawal from the so-called Schengen group of countries that established a “borderless” Europe, and Denmark reimposed its own frontier controls.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/16/world/europe/denmark-to-be-led-by-its-first-female-premier-as-leftists-win.html?partner=rss&emc=rss


Helle Thorning-Schmidt is likely to lead Denmark

[SaaM]

15. Denmark to Be Led by Its First Female Premier as Leftists Win

What changes to you expect to see under the new government? Why is the change good from your perspective?

[pampango]

19. From what I have read: higher and more progressive taxes, a stronger safety net,

and the elimination of the far-right DPP's influence in government. Its conservative fixation on opposing immigration and the open borders that go with Denmark's membership in Schengen and the EU are best seen in the rear view mirror.

I think all those things are a positive change from the direction the conservative government had Denmark heading in.

[Celefin]

16. And Good Riddance!

'centre-right liberal and conservative'
yeah right... maybe from a US perspective. More like neo-conservatives and fringe right nationalists to us.

Anyway... YAY DENMARK!

What this means is that people have voted for:

-an end to the privatization madness in health care and other public infrastructure, saving billions
-a rollback of the cuts to childcare and schools
-HIGHER TAXES on the wealthy and corporations, especially banks
-AN END TO TAXBREAKS, except for those on below average wage
-AN END TO A MILITARISTIC FOREIGN POLICY
-A jobs program financed by those taxes and savings, based on renewable energy development, investments in public transport infrastructure and expansion of community welfare

After ten very long years I finally have some hope for my little homeland :)
And because we Danes like it colourful and interesting, we'll most likely get a three party coalition government consisting of social democrats, socialists and liberals, dependent on the goodwill of what would probably be seen as communists in the US. All shades of red, really. I am so looking forward to this.

[bikebloke]

17. Superbra Danmark!

[Zorra]

18. Congratulations to the people of Denmark!

:hug: