Immediately yesterday was what they call a bad day in politics for the Danish People’s Party leader Morten Messerschmidt, as no fewer than five of the right-wing 16 MPs have jumped off to become non-aligned.
But a completely different story is being told in opinion polls since Messerschmidt’s election last month.
Since then, the party has theoretically won four seats in parliament – a 50 percent increase in public support since December 8, according to the Epinion poll conducted on February 17.
Suddenly the race is close again
These polls not only indicate that Messerschmidt is well-liked by right-wing supporters, but he also fuels a general increase in popularity for the right-wing coalition.
If a parliamentary election were to take place today, the red bloc would win 49.5 percent of the vote (88 seats), and the blue bloc 48.3 percent (87) – equivalent to 175 of Parliament’s 179 seats. The remaining four, which represent Greenland and the Faroe Islands, are usually divided.
It is the closest the right has been to a majority since a good while before the parliamentary elections in 2019, which the left bloc won with 93 seats, compared to the right wing’s 76.
Since December, three seats have turned from red bloc to blue bloc: a turn of six. Two have been lost by the Social Democrats – experts agree that the ruling party took a large number of DF voters with its pre-election anti-immigration policy – and one from SF.
Pia Kjærsgaard blamed the toxic environment
Nevertheless, it is worrying to lose five MPs in one day – especially as the action has apparently been coordinated to harm the new leader.
Many of the outgoing members of parliament have expressed their disapproval of the influence of Pia Kjærsgaard, co-founder and long-time acting leader of the party, who clearly sees protégé Messerschmidt as her natural successor.
It is alleged that she is bringing a toxic environment to Parliament.
“There are many who are nervous when they see Pia in the corridors,” says one of the outgoing members of parliament, Liselott Blixt, to DR.
“It is adult bullying… and a work environment that is not healthy. We have people who go home crying. ”
Blixt now continues as an independent, but with the public support for the party she left growing at a rapid pace, it is doubtful that she has good prospects on the way to the next election.
Source: The Nordic Page