Denmark forms left-wing government

Plan to raise taxes among casualties in coalition talks.

A new centre-left coalition government today took up office in Denmark promising to spur economic growth and ease the country’s strict rules on immigration.

The cabinet was sworn in today after two weeks of negotiations were completed yesterday evening.

For the first time in Danish history, the government is headed by a woman, Helle Thorning-Schmidt. In total, the 23-member cabinet includes nine women.

Thorning-Schmidt’s Social Democrats will lead a three-party coalition whose other members are the centre-left Social Liberals (Radikale Venstre) and the ex-communist Socialist People’s Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti).

Electoral success for the ‘Red bloc’ alliance on 15 September ended ten years of centre-right rule by the Liberals and Conservative People’s Party. The coalition has the tacit support of the far-left Red-Green Alliance party, whose backing on key votes will give it 92 seats in the 179-member parliament.

The principal point of contention in the subsequent talks was the coalition’s economic plan.

At the demand of the Social Liberals, Thorning-Schmidt’s plan to raise taxes for richer Danes and for banks has been removed.

The coalition’s programme, which will officially be presented later today (3 October), includes a €1.3 billion stimulus package to boost jobs. Officials say that the injection will not prevent the country from cutting the budget deficit to below 3% of gross domestic product by 2013, as the European Commission has recommended.

Fact File

The Danish cabinet

Prime minister: Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Social Democrats
Deputy prime minister and minister for the economy and interior: Margrethe Vestager, Social Liberals
Foreign minister: Villy Søvndal, Socialist People’s Party
Finance minister: Bjarne Corydon, Social Democrats
Health minister: Astrid Krag, Socialist People’s Party
Defence minister: Nick Haekkerup, Social Democrats
Education minister: Christine Antorini, Socialist People’s Party
Social affairs and integration minister: Karen Haekkerup, Social Democrats
Transport minister: Henrik Dam Kristensen, Social Democrats
Trade minister: Pia Olsen Dyhr, Socialist People’s Party
Development minister: Christian Friis Bach, Social Liberals
Environment minister: Ida Auken, Socialist People’s Party
Employment minister: Mette Frederiksen, Social Democrats
European affairs minister: Nicolai Wammen, Social Democrats

The government is also expected to ease strict immigration rules, scrapping a points system that is used to select immigrants to Denmark.

Thorning-Schmidt’s Social Democrats will have 13 posts in the cabinet. The two other parties will each have six.

The leader of the Socialist People’s Party, Villy Søvndal, has been appointed foreign minister, while the leader of the Social Liberals, Margrethe Vestager, will become minister for the interior and the economy.

Thorning-Schmidt’s economic adviser, Bjarne Corydon, will become finance minister, and another Social Democrat, Nicolai Wammen, will be minister for European affairs.

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