The Danish Political System by Niklas Oscar Hody

The Danish Political System

Before the fifth of June 1849, we had absolute monarchy in Denmark. At this time, Frederik the 7.th was the ruling king of Denmark. But at this time, the population was also beginning to be unsatisfied with the low influence, they had on the society. It was around half a century after the Age of Enlightenment and the French revolution, episodes that made people around Europe change their view on the way societies were ruled. Frederik the 7.th wasn’t a great leader and that’s why he signed a statement of Denmark. The statement called the constitution of the kingdom of Denmark turned Denmark into a constitutional monarchy, with democracy. Constitutional monarchy means that there is a monarchy in the country, but the monarchy doesn’t have any power at all. So we got democracy in Denmark on the fifth of June 1849. Based on ideas of the French philosopher Montesquieu from the Age of Enlightenment, we got a tripartition of the power, to avoid abuse of power. Power was divided on three organs: The legislative power, the practising power and the judiciary power. The legislative power in Denmark is the parliament with 179 members, who can be voted in and out of the parliament democratically. The 179 members are divided on seven parties. A party needs two percent of the Danish vote to be represented in parliament. The seven parties are: Venstre, Socialdemokratiet, Det Konservative Folkeparti, Det Radikale Venstre, Dansk Folkeparti, Socialistisk Folkeparti and Enhedslisen. Their job is to pass new laws for the country. The practising power is the government. The government is the uniting of the parties who together, can make up the majority of the 179 members. The government is divided on ministries, with different ministers and different areas of responsibility. Together, they are the rulers of the country. The judiciary power is responsible for all the cases that need a judge, to make a decision. The judges aren’t chosen by the population, but by the ministers.

The government is today a union of: Venstre, Det Konservative Folkeparti, and with Dansk Folkeparti as supporting party. The prime minister is Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Opposite to USA, you can’t (in Denmark) vote directly for a member of the parliament, as prime minister. The prime minister will typically be the leader of the greatest party in the government. The opposition is the parties that aren’t a part of the government. At the moment, the opposition consists of: Socialdemokratiet, Det Radikale Venstre, Enhedslisten and Socialistisk Folkeparti. In Denmark we have a general election every fourth year.
As a sum up, I will mention that we in Denmark have democracy, with a tripartition of the power. We can vote on the politicians, and through them we are represented in the parliament. They represent our meanings and position in the politic of the Danish society. Denmark is part of the EU (Union of Europe). EU is union of the countries in Europe. EU has its prime office in Brussels, where the decisions are made. Denmark became a member of EU in 1972.