Enhedslisten secures mandate with 7 percent of the votes – Pelle Dragsted sees it as a strengthening of their support. Enhedslisten has managed to retain their mandate in the European Parliament with seven percent of the votes in Sunday’s EU election. Political leader Pelle Dragsted sees this result as significant support for him and the party. The election marks one of the best results for Enhedslisten ever, and now the party can send Per Clausen to the European Parliament as a replacement for Nikolaj Villumsen. Dragsted, in his first election campaign as political leader, sees the result as a confirmation of his leadership. He states that he sees the result as a clear endorsement of him as the new political spokesperson. Dragsted also highlights that the left-wing in general had a strong evening, and he is pleased with the progress of SF (Socialist People’s Party), which resulted in three mandates. “We have never seen so many Danes vote for the left-wing before. It is a joyful development, especially when looking at how things are going in many other European countries,” says Dragsted. However, the election has also brought criticism and internal division on the green side. Two days before the election, Dragsted warned left-wing voters against voting for Alternativet (The Alternative), which according to him, did not have a realistic chance of obtaining a mandate. He believed that votes for Alternativet could be wasted because the party had entered into an electoral alliance with the Social Democrats. This warning has not been well received by Alternativet’s leader, Franciska Rosenkilde, who has accused Enhedslisten of dividing the green side. Dragsted, however, denies this criticism and wonders why Alternativet chose to cooperate with the Social Democrats instead of Enhedslisten. He maintains that Alternativet was never close to getting a mandate, as the polls also showed. “It’s unfortunate, as we would have liked to have had Alternativet with us. But even without our warning, the polls showed that they were not close to a mandate. A green electoral alliance could have changed this,” says Dragsted. Enhedslisten is now strong with their retained mandate and looks forward to continuing their work in the European Parliament with renewed strength and support from their voters.

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