The Alternative (Denmark)

The Alternative
Alternativet
Leader Uffe Elbæk
Founded 27 November 2013
Split from Danish Social Liberal Party
Ideology Green politics[1]
Progressivism
Pro-Europeanism[2]
Political position Centre-left
European affiliation Democracy in Europe Movement 2025[3]
European Parliament group No MEPs
Colours Neon green[4]
Folketing
10 / 179
European Parliament
0 / 13
Regional councils
3 / 205
Municipal councils
20 / 2,432
Mayors:
1 / 98
Election symbol
Å
Website
alternativet.dk, en.alternativet.dk

The Alternative (Danish: Alternativet) is a green political party in Denmark.[1] The party was publicly launched on 27 November 2013 by former Minister of Culture Uffe Elbæk and Josephine Fock, both of whom had been Members of Parliament for the Social Liberal Party.[5][6]

History

Top candidates Rune Wingård (r) and Uffe Elbæk (l) gathering signatures in Copenhagen, 19 September 2014.

On 17 September 2013, Uffe Elbæk announced that he had left the Social Liberal Party.[7] During this time, Elbæk prepared for founding a new party. Two months later, The Alternative was publicly launched by Uffe Elbæk and Josephine Fock at a press conference at Christiansborg Palace, the seat of the Danish Parliament, Folketinget.[8]

The party’s name was approved by the Danish Electoral Commission under the Ministry of Economy and the Interior, taking effect on 18 December 2013.[9] At the beginning of 2015 the party worked on gathering the 20,260 signatures required to run for Parliament, which it succeeded in doing on 23 February 2015.[10] The party aims to crowdsource policies through what it calls "political laboratories".[11]

The party obtained ballot access for the 2015 general election with the letter Å on the electoral lists on 13 March 2015.[12] The party supported the re-election of Social Democrat leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt as Prime Minister.[13]

In the general election on 18 June 2015, The Alternative received 4.8% of the vote, electing 9 deputies. The sixth-largest party in Denmark by political representation,[14] the party is part of the opposition to the second government of Lars Løkke Rasmussen.

It colaborates with DIEM 25 at the European level.

Parliamentary representation

The members of Parliament from 2015 and their spokesperson assignments:

  • Uffe Elbæk: Leader of the Alternative
  • Josephine Fock: Political group leader of the Alternative. Spokeswoman for finance and economy, employment policy, constitution and legal policy
  • Rasmus Nordqvist: Political Spokesman for the Alternative. Spokesman for Foreign Affairs, European Affairs, Entrepreneurship, Ethical Consumerism, Business, Trade, Art, and Culture
  • René Gade: Spokesman for Defense, Taxes, and Digital Constitutional Rights.
  • Torsten Gejl: Spokesman for Domestic Policy, Pattern Breaking and Social Affairs
  • Nikolaj Amstrup (Alternate for Roger Matthisen): Spokesman for Cities and Residences, Rural Districts, Islands, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland
  • Ulla Sandbæk: Spokesman for Ecclesiastical Affairs, Naturalisation, Integration and Development
  • Carolina Magdalene Maier: Spokesman for Health, Psychiatry, Equal Rights, Youth, Family, Senior Citizens, Education, Research, Schools, and Youth Education Programs
  • Christian Poll: Spokesman for Environment, Climate, Energy, Agriculture, Animal Welfare, Fisheries, Food, and Transport

Election results

Parliament (Folketing)

Date Votes Seats
# % ± pp # ±
2015 168,788 4.8% +4.8
10 / 179
 New

References

  1. 1 2 Nordsieck, Wolfram (2015). "Denmark". Parties and Elections in Europe.
  2. ↑ https://www.b.dk/politiko/alternativet-vil-have-profil-som-spidskandidat-til-eu-parlamentet
  3. ↑ The Alternative. "A progressive Europe". Retrieved 4 October 2018. At the same time, we want to extend our engagement at the European level, and actively take part in the all-European debate so that we can find common solutions to our shared European problems. Therefore, we keep on strengthening our cooperation with other progressive forces and initiatives, such as the new progressive movement DiEM25.
  4. ↑ "Visuelle guides og tips". Alternativets vidensdatabase. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  5. ↑ Holm, Line. "Uffe Elbæk stifter nyt parti". Berlingske. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  6. ↑ "The Copenhagen Post - Danish News in English". cphpost.dk.
  7. ↑ "Uffe Elbæk danner nyt grønt parti". Politiken. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "Alternativets historie". Alternativet. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  9. ↑ "Oversigt (i alfabetisk rækkefølge) over godkendte partinavne og formularer i henhold til folketingsvalglovens § 12, stk. 2" (PDF). Valgnævnet. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  10. ↑ Søe, Carl-Emil. "Alternativet har samlet støtte nok til et folketingsvalg". DR.dk Politik. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  11. ↑ ""I won't do this forever": meet Alternative leader, Uffe Elbæk – Denmark's Jeremy Corbyn". www.newstatesman.com.
  12. ↑ Redder, Hans. "Alternativet har fået sit bogstav: Nu kan du sætte kryds ved liste Å". TV 2 Politik. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  13. ↑ Redder, Gitte. "Vi er ikke naive. Det er naivt ikke at gøre det". Ugebrevet A4. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  14. ↑ "Historisk DF-valg sikrer blå blok sejren". DR. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
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