“Venstre” (The Left) and “De Radikale” (The Radicals) enter into a historic election alliance for the EU Parliament. For the first time ever, Venstre and De Radikale have formed an election alliance for the upcoming EU Parliament election. This strategic move aims to reduce the risk of wasted votes by allowing the parties to share surplus votes with each other, as well as with “Moderaterne” (The Moderates), who are also part of this election alliance. Despite significant political differences, especially on climate policy, both parties see an advantage in cooperating. For example, Venstre’s MEP Asger Christensen has dismissed a CO2 tax as a “completely crazy” idea, while De Radikale’s lead candidate, Sigrid Friis, has proposed a cut of 200 billion Danish kroner in EU agricultural subsidies in favor of climate action. Nevertheless, both candidates believe that their political profiles remain clear and distinct. Asger Christensen emphasizes that voters should judge him based on his policies and vision for Europe, rather than the technicalities of the election alliance.
The main goal of the cooperation is to increase the chances of being elected to the EU Parliament and maximize the overall liberal representation. The three liberal parties, all part of the European group Renew, have come together due to the high threshold in the EU election. While the threshold for a parliamentary election in Denmark is two percent, a full 6.25 percent of the votes are required to secure a seat in the EU Parliament. By pooling their votes, the parties increase their chances of success. Election researcher Kasper Møller Hansen from the University of Copenhagen explains that voters effectively have two votes. The first vote goes to the chosen party, and if there are surplus votes, they are used to ensure a liberal vote in general.
Other parties have also formed election alliances. SF, Socialdemokraterne (The Social Democrats), and Alternativet (The Alternative) have joined forces in an election alliance, while De Konservative (The Conservatives) and Liberal Alliance have made a similar agreement. On the other hand, Danmarksdemokraterne (The Denmark Democrats), Enhedslisten (The Red-Green Alliance), and Dansk Folkeparti (The Danish People’s Party) remain outside of such collaborations.