Progress Party (Denmark)
Progress Party Fremskridtspartiet | |
---|---|
Anti-immigration[5] | |
Political position | Far-right[6][7] |
Colours | Yellow |
Election symbol | |
Z | |
Website | |
frp | |
Member of European Progressive Democrats in the European Parliament (1979–1984) |
The Progress Party (Danish: Fremskridtspartiet, FrP) is a right-wing populist political party in Denmark which was founded in 1972.
The party's founder, the former lawyer Mogens Glistrup, gained widespread popularity as well as notoriety in the country after he appeared on Danish television, stating that he paid 0% in income tax. The party was placed on the right of the political spectrum as it believed in radical tax cuts (including removing the income tax altogether) and vowed to cut government spending. In the late 1970s, its agenda was "the gradual abolition of income tax, the disbandment of most of the civil service, the abolition of the diplomatic service and the scrapping of 90% of all legislation".[8] From the 1980s, the party also adopted anti-immigration as a key issue.[2]
The party entered the Danish parliament after the 1973 landslide election and immediately became the second largest party in Denmark. After this the party gradually decreased in voter support, and when some of its leading members broke out and established the Danish People's Party in 1995, the party soon lost its representation in parliament. It last won members of the Folketing in 1998, and has since become a minor party. In the 2019 general election, it supported the New Right.
History
The Progress Party was founded by tax
The Progress Party's seats in parliament fell to 20 in 1979, partly due to internal splits between "pragmatists" (slappere) who wanted to pursue cooperation with mainstream parties; and "fundamentalists" (strammere) who wanted the party to stand alone.[9] The party started to turn its attention on immigration by 1979, although immigration did not become important before the late 1980s.[9][11] Having added a "Mohammedan-free Denmark" as one of its declared goals in 1980,[11] Glistrup increasingly made comments about Muslims and used the slogan to "Make Denmark a Muslim Free Zone".[9] In 1983, Glistrup was sentenced to three years in prison for tax fraud.[9] While Glistrup was in prison, the pragmatists led by Pia Kjærsgaard took over the leadership of the party.[9] Returning to the party after his release in 1987, Glistrup was no longer in control of it[9] and internal strife broke out again.[11] Glistrup refused to vote in favour of a proposition which had been agreed with the government in 1988 and was stripped of his position as a representative for the party.[11] He was expelled from the national executive of the party in 1991 and went on to found his own party, called Prosperity Party (Trivselspartiet).[9][11]
The Progress Party won twelve seats in the
When the party's new leader
Ideology
This article is part of a series on |
Conservatism in Denmark |
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Main issues
The party's political issues were:
- Abolishing income tax.
- Cleaning up the law jungle.
- Reducing bureaucracy.
- Putting a stop to immigration from Islamic countries and researching its consequences.
Glistrup added the fourth point in the 1980s.[15]
Political positions
By 2010, its entire political program consisted of the following points, with the headline "Stop the immigration":[16]
- Abolishment of the income tax.
- Drastic reduction of bureaucracy.
- Drastic reduction of the "law jungle".
- Restoration of borders and border control product.
- Stop of immigration.
- Stop the allocation of Danish citizenship.
- Confrontation with the integration policy.
- Locate the responsibility for the mass immigration.
- Denmark gradually out of the EU for trade throughout the world.
Party leadership
Political leaders
- Mogens Glistrup (1972–1985)
- Pia Kjærsgaard (1985–1995)
- Kirsten Jacobsen (1995–1999)
- Aage Brusgaard (1999–2001)
- Aase Heskjær (2001–2003)
- Jørn Herkild (2003–2006)
- Henrik Søndergård (2006–2007)
- Ove Jensen (2007–2009)
- Ernst Simonsen (2009–2010)
- Niels Højland (2010–)
Organisational leaders
- Ulrik Poulsen (1974)
- Palle Tillisch (1975–1976)
- A. Roland Petersen (1976–1979)
- V.A. Jacobsen (1980–1984)
- Poul Sustmann Hansen (1984)
- Ove Jensen (1984)
- Helge Dohrmann (1984–1985)
- Annette Just (1985–1986)
- Johannes Sørensen (1987–1993)
- Poul Lindholm Nielsen (1994)
- Johannes Sørensen (1995–1999)
- Per Larsen (1999)
- Aage Brusgaard (1999–2001)
- Aase Heskjær (2001–2003)
- Jørn Herkild (2003–2006)
- Henrik Søndergård (2006–2007)
- Ove Jensen (2007–2009)
- Ernst Simonsen (2009–2010)
- Niels Højland (2010–)
Election results
Folketing
Election | No. of total votes | % of popular vote | No. of seats won | Government |
---|---|---|---|---|
1973
|
485,289 | 15.9% | 28 / 179
|
Providing parliamentary support |
1975
|
414,219 | 13.6% | 24 / 179
|
in opposition |
1977
|
453,792 | 14.6% | 26 / 179
|
In opposition |
1979
|
349,243 | 11.0% | 20 / 179
|
In opposition |
1981
|
278,383 | 8.9% | 16 / 179
|
In opposition |
1984
|
120,461 | 3.6% | 6 / 179
|
Providing parliamentary support |
1987
|
160,461 | 4.8% | 9 / 179
|
Providing parliamentary support |
1988
|
298,132 | 9.0% | 16 / 179
|
Providing parliamentary support |
1990
|
208,484 | 6.4% | 12 / 179
|
In opposition |
1994
|
214,057 | 6.4% | 11 / 179
|
In opposition |
1998
|
82,437 | 2.4% | 4 / 179
|
In opposition |
2001
|
19,340 | 0.6% | 0 / 179
|
Extra-parliamentary |
European Parliament
Election | No. of total votes | % of popular vote | No. of seats won |
---|---|---|---|
1979 | 100,702 | 5.7% | 1 / 15
|
1984 | 68,747 | 3.4% | 0 / 15
|
1989 | 93,985 | 5.3% | 0 / 15
|
1994 | 59,687 | 2.9% | 0 / 15
|
1999 | 14,233 | 0.7% | 0 / 15
|
References
- ISBN 9781134154326.
- ^ ISBN 9781137009685.
- ISBN 9783593397931.
- )
- )
- ^ a b "420.000 muslimer skal smides ud af landet" [420,000 Muslims must be thrown out of the country]. Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). 20 October 2001. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
- ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
- ISBN 0-333-26575-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-85134-3.
- ISBN 978-1-85743-152-0. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
- ^ Berlingske Tidende(in Danish). Retrieved 29 December 2010.
- ^ Scottish International, Volume 7, Issues 1-2, 1974, page 8
- ^ Larsen, Ejvind (26 July 2007). "Frihed 2000". Information.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 29 December 2010.
- ^ Andersen, Stine Agnholt (2 October 2016). "Fremskridtspartiet overlader scenen til Nye Borgerlige". TV Midtvest (in Danish). Retrieved 2 September 2018.
- ^ "Velkommen til Fremskridtspartiet". Frp.dk (in Danish). 10 December 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
- ^ "Stop indvandringen". Frp.dk (in Danish). 10 December 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2010.