Abolished public holiday pushes support for Danish ruling coalition to all-time low

Support for the three parties that make up Denmark’s ruling coalition has hit an all-time low, according to an opinion poll published on Wednesday, after the coalition abolished a popular public holiday last year against the will of the majority of Danes.

Support for the Danish government has never been lower, with just 31.5% of voters ready to vote for one of the three government parties if general elections were held tomorrow, a new Epinion survey carried out for the Danish media DR shows.

Since 2022, Denmark has been governed by a coalition made of the Social Democrats (S&D), the Liberals and the Moderates (Renew Europe).

The poll indicates a decline of as much as 18.6% compared to the election in November 2022, where 50% voted for either the Social Democrats, the Liberals, or the Moderates.

The latest poll is particularly damning for the Liberals, who have the support of just 6.5% of voters, more than halving since the general election when 13% voted for them.

In the survey, with the support of 19% of the voters, then prime minister Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democratic party stands for a decline of 8% compared to the general election where 27% of the voters favoured Frederiksen’s party.

Furthermore, Frederiksen herself no longer arouses the enthusiasm of the crowds, as only 15% of the respondents say they personally prefer her as the prime minister, compared to 29% in December 2022.

“As a party, I think that you must pursue the policy that you believe is the right one,” political spokesman for the Social Democrats Rasmus Stoklund told the Danish press, commenting on the polls.

“In the end, it is the voters who ultimately have to make a decision about how they want the Parliament to be composed,” he added.

The abolished day off

Most Danish political commentators and analysts agree that the abolition of the Great Prayer Day  (Store Bededag) is one of the main explanations and starting points for the government’s remarkable decline in opinion polls.

“The abolition of the Great Prayer day was seen by many as a real betrayal, which contrasts with the Danish democratic tradition,” a source close to the Danish centre-left Green Left party told Euractiv, adding that it is a holiday that had supporters on both sides of the political spectrum.

The Great Prayer Day, a former national holiday celebrated on the fourth Friday after Easter, was previously associated with prayer, family and outdoor activities, which – for the first time since 1686 – will not be officially celebrated in Denmark this year.

It was abolished in February 2023 by the three-party coalition, which argued that the extra holiday was inefficient and that the money generated should be used to increase defence spending, namely to meet NATO targets by 2030, three years ahead of the current schedule.

The policy has been criticised by trade unions and the church, while the military has also distanced itself from the plan.

Thousands of Danes took part in a demonstration against it outside parliament last year, as polls showed that more than 70% were against abolishing the public holiday.

The next general election in Denmark is scheduled for October 2026.

(Charles Szumski | Euractiv.com)

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