A majority of Danes believe that Members of Parliament (MPs) should relinquish their mandate to the party they were elected for if they choose to switch parties during their term. This is indicated by a recent poll conducted by the research institute Epinion for the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). According to the survey, 69 percent of respondents stated that an MP should resign from the Folketing (the Danish Parliament) and transfer their mandate to another member from the same party in the event of a party switch. Only 13 percent disagreed, while 18 percent remained neutral.

This perspective contrasts sharply with recent developments in Danish politics, where several MPs have opted to take their mandate with them when switching parties. Since the beginning of the 2022 electoral term, 17 MPs have left the parties they were elected for, and among them, 11 have retained their mandates as independents or switched to another party.

Political analyst and Professor of Political Science at the University of Copenhagen, Kasper Møller Hansen, explains that voters may feel betrayed when politicians change allegiance mid-term. “If voters feel that their vote is being misused, it can lead to resentment toward the politician and distrust in the democratic process,” he states. He emphasizes the importance of politicians who switch parties thoroughly explaining their reasoning to voters.

A current example of this is Christian Friis Bach, who recently switched from the Radical Left (Radikale Venstre) to the Liberal Party (Venstre). This move was criticized by his local party members in his constituency, who deemed it a “betrayal.” Other notable switches include Mads Fuglede, who moved from Venstre to the Denmark Democrats (Danmarksdemokraterne), Pernille Vermund from the New Right (Nye Borgerlige) to the Liberal Alliance (Liberal Alliance), and Mette Thiesen from the New Right to the Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti).