Liberal Alliance and Danmarksdemokraterne Surprise in EU Election
For the first time ever, Liberal Alliance seems poised to have representation in the EU Parliament. According to the initial exit polls from both DR and TV 2, which were released immediately after the polling stations closed at 8 pm, the party is set to secure between one and two seats. TV 2’s poll gives the party 9.7% of the votes, equivalent to two seats, while DR’s poll shows 7.8% of the votes, which would mean one seat. This is Liberal Alliance’s fourth attempt to enter the EU Parliament, this time with Alex Vanopslagh at the helm. Lead candidate Henrik Dahl and the second candidate on the list, Mads Strange, appear to have made significant progress compared to the 2019 election, where the party only garnered 2.2% of the votes.
Danmarksdemokraterne, who are running for the EU parliamentary election for the first time, also seem to be successful. The polls indicate that the party will secure one seat with 7.6% of the votes according to DR and 8.6% according to TV 2. The party’s lead candidate is Kristoffer Storm, and the political spokesperson Susie Jessen expresses great joy about the results. She highlights that it is a remarkable achievement for a new party to gain representation on its first attempt.
Liberal Alliance’s political spokesperson, Sólbjørg Jakobsen, is also optimistic and believes that the result looks promising. “If everything goes as we hope, we will send a seat there – perhaps two,” she states. The exit polls, based on interviews with voters at the polling stations, should be taken with caution as they are not official results. The final results will be announced after 11 pm.
The Conservative (De Konservative) party also seems to maintain their one seat and make gains compared to the 2019 election. Like Liberal Alliance, the party aims to be part of the European People’s Party (EPP), which was the largest group before the election. Both Enhedslisten (the Red-Green Alliance), Danmarksdemokraterne, and Dansk Folkeparti (the Danish People’s Party) are running independently without being part of any electoral alliance.