Posted on 02/08/2005 11:08:05 AM PST by Eurotwit
Just watching Danish Television. The conservative coalition seems to be winning the election in Denmark.
Another member of the Iraq coalition wins their election.
I'll post more news when more results come in.
Cheers.
Denmark Re-Elects PM Who Cracked Down on Asylum
By Stephen Brown and Per Bech Thomsen
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danes re-elected center-right Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen for a second term on Tuesday, according to early exit polls, on the back of a popular crackdown on asylum-seekers and cuts in Denmark's high taxes.
Rasmussen and his right-wing allies won between 92-95 of the 179 seats in parliament versus 80-83 for the center-left bloc led by the Social Democrats, according to two television exit polls released an hour before voting was due to end at 1900 GMT.
The 52-year-old Liberal leader called a snap election three weeks ago to capitalize on what he described as a "fairy tale" scenario of economic prosperity and social well-being.
He becomes the first Liberal prime minister ever to be re-elected, although his party seemed set to lose a few seats in parliament compared to the 2001 poll that brought him to power.
"The most important thing is that the prime minister is re-elected, which will be a historic achievement," said Lars Lokke Rasmussen, interior minister and deputy head of the Liberals. He is not related to the prime minister.
Rasmussen, who sent troops to Iraq (news - web sites) to help in the U.S.-led war, had warned that a Social Democrat victory would "loosen up" asylum policies which he boasts are being copied by European leaders like Britain's Tony Blair (news - web sites).
Four million people were eligible to cast ballots and the definitive result was expected by 2230 GMT.
Immigration has dominated the brief campaign. Laws passed in 2002 make it harder to bring foreign spouses into Denmark and to qualify for asylum, and have cut immigration sharply. Immigrants account for two percent of the electorate.
BIG DISAPPOINTMENT
The Social Democrats, failing to provide a clear alternative after falling in line with the government both on Iraq and immigration, recorded its worst election result in many decades.
"It's a major disappointment," said Svend Auken, a member of parliament for the Social Democrats whose campaign was led by 59-year-old ex-foreign and finance minister Mogens Lykketoft.
Police were on alert after an intelligence warning that Denmark's role in Iraq raised the risk of a militant attack.
Although support for the war is waning and six out of 10 people now want the 500 troops withdrawn, Iraq took a back seat in the campaign to the immigration debate.
One party favoring softer asylum laws, the Social Liberals, was seen doubling its vote while the anti-immigrant Danish People's Party, which is not in the ruling coalition but helps it out in parliament, looked like losing one of its 22 seats.
Bertel Haarder, the immigration minister who says he is the country's second most popular man after Rasmussen, said Denmark continued to welcome immigrants who have qualifications or jobs.
"Denmark is a welfare state where it is extremely difficult to integrate newcomers into the labor market if they have no qualifications or Danish language," he told correspondents.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&ncid=732&e=3&u=/nm/20050208/wl_nm/denmark_elections_dc
Excellent news!
Hurrah!
My kinda woman! :-)
Seriously, good on the Danes. They seem to be the only Nordic country with the stones to seriously confront their immigration and Islamicization problems.
Bitter Beer Face!
Yes, Denmark has really been impressing me lately.
I am quite enjoying myself watching the socialist all depressed having to explain their dysmal results.
There was some rumors that Fogh Rasmussen could change tack a bit and change his coalition more towards the center and not cooperate with Danish People's party anymore.
However, Lene Espersen, pictured above, squashed those rumours immediately, and said they want to continue on a plaform of cutting taxes and strict immigration.
Great news. I am enjoying myself tonight.
As far as I can see it is only in Spain so far that a coalition member actually has lost an election.
Why are you posting a picture of Greta Van Sustern?
Not bad for a 40 something parlimentarian. But, I might just be in a very good mood tonight :-)
She sure beats the heck out of a Hillary Clinton or Barbara Mikulski.
Opposition leader concedes defeat
From correspondents in Copenhagen
February 09, 2005
From: Agence France-Presse
THE head of Denmark's largest opposition party, Mogens Lykketoft of the Social Democratic Party, today conceded defeat in the country's general election after projections gave the victory to the centre-right government.
"I congratulate the Liberal Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen on his victory," he told party supporters in Copenhagen.
With 45.5 per cent of votes counted, election authorities projected that Rasmussen's Liberal party, coalition Conservatives and far-right Danish People's Party (DPP) would win 96 of 179 seats in parliament.
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Ninety seats are needed to form a majority.
"It's a very unreasonable and unfair result and it pains me that we have to deal with the centre-right government, supported by the DPP, for another four years," Mr Lykketoft said.
Opinion polls have for weeks suggested that the country's healthy economy, along with a freeze on taxes, and especially the fact that the Government has kept its controversial 2001 election promise to curb immigration, could help secure it victory.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12196151-23109,00.html
Hubba Hubba... nice pic... :)
I love the socialist's consession speech:
"It's a very unreasonable and unfair result and it pains me that we have to deal with the centre-right government, supported by the DPP, for another four years," Mr Lykketoft said. "
Sounds like Daschle :-)
By Danish standards, she's quite plain.
But I'm not objective, since I married a half-Danish girl.
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