The Alternative (Denmark)

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The Alternative
Alternativet
Leader Uffe Elbæk
Founded 27 November 2013
Split from Danish Social Liberal Party
Ideology Green politics[1] Progressivism
Political position Centre-left
European Parliament group No MEPs
Colours Neon green[2]
Folketing
9 / 179
European Parliament
0 / 13
Municipal councils
3 / 2,444
Election symbol
Å
Website
alternativet.dk, en.alternativet.dk
Politics of Denmark
Political parties
Elections

The Alternative (Danish: Alternativet) is a green political party in Denmark. 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.[3][4]

History

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

On 17 September 2013, Uffe Elbæk announced that he had left the Social Liberal Party.[5] 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.[6][third-party source needed]

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.[7] In 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.[8] The party aims to crowdsource policies through what it calls "political laboratories".[9]

The party obtained ballot access for the 2015 general election with the letter Å on the electoral lists on 13 March 2015.[10] The party supported the re-election of Social Democrat leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt as Prime Minister.[11]

In the 2015 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,[12] the party is part of the opposition to the second government of Lars Løkke Rasmussen.

Parliamentary Representation

The members of Parliament from 2015 and their spokesperson assignments:

  • Uffe Elbæk: The political leader of the Alternative
  • Josephine Fock: Political group leader of the Alternative. Spokesman for finance and economy, employment policy, constitution and legal policy
  • Rasmus Nordqvist: Political spokesman for the Alternative. Spokesman for foreign affairs, EU-politics, entrepreneurship, ethical consumerism, business, trade, art and culture
  • René Gade: Spokesman for Peace- and defense, taxes and digital constitutional rights and IT.
  • Torsten Gejl: Spokesman for domestic policy, pattern breaking and social politics
  • Nikolaj Amstrup (alternate for Roger Matthisen): Spokesman for cities and residences, for rural districts and islands and the Faroe Islands and Greenland
  • Ulla Sandbæk: Spokesman for Ecclesiastic affairs, naturalisation, integration and development politics
  • Carolina Magdalene Maier: Spokesman for health, psychiatry, equal-rights, children, family life, elder, education and research, schools and youth education programs
  • Christian Poll: Spokesman for environment, climate, energy, agriculture, animal welfare, fishing, food and transport.

Election results

Parliament (Folketing)

Date Votes Seats
#  % ± pp # ±
2015 168.788 4.8 % +4.8
9 / 179
New

References

  1. Parties and Elections in Europe.
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  4. http://cphpost.dk/news14/politics-news14/uffe-elbaek-starts-new-political-party.html
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  9. http://www.newstatesman.com/world/europe/2015/10/i-wont-do-forever-meet-alternative-leader-uffe-elb-k-denmarks-jeremy-corbyn
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External links