Danes will take part in a general election on Wednesday, less than a month after the European elections. Polling stations will open tomorrow, June 5, and the nation will head to the ballot box. The Social Democrats are ahead in the polls ahead of Wednesday’s vote, but what would a victory for them mean for the country? This is what could happen if the Social Democrats win the Danish election.
What will happen if the Social Democrats win?
While Denmark’s Social Democrats consider themselves a centre-left party, they take a strong stance on immigration.
Having previously taken a liberal view of immigration, they have toughened their stance in recent years – a move that seems to resonate with voters.
READ MORE: Danish election 2019 polls: Who will win the election in Denmark this week?
The Social Democrats have widely criticised the current government’s measures on immigration.
The party has pledged to crack down on migrants and refugees with tougher measures to protect Denmark’s welfare system.
The Social Democrats have also promised to take bigger steps to integrate immigrants already in the country.
The party argues harsher measures are needed to protect Denmark’s welfare system.
An Immigration spokesman for the Social Democrats, Mattias Tesfaye, told the Financial Times: “If only the far-right is talking about the problems, then it is only the far-right where people will be looking for solutions.”
Mr Tesfaye, who is the son of an immigrant himself, continued: “If I were a liberal rightwinger or in an Anglo-Saxon [country] then open borders would not be a problem.
“But for a Scandinavian welfare state, immigration has to be controlled.”
The election looks likely to be defined by the Danish issue of balancing the nation’s generous welfare system with immigration.
In the past year, human rights campaigners have expressed their belief that new policies have led to a rise in racist abuse and discrimination in Denmark.
A new law, backed by the Social Democrats but passed by the current Danish government allows police to confiscate money and jewellery from asylum seekers.
If the Social Democrats win tomorrow then a crackdown on immigration in Denmark is likely to continue.
What do the polls say?
A poll this weekend predicted the Social Democrats, will win the largest slice of the vote with about 27 percent.
They are predicted to win more than double the votes of the populist parties.
The outgoing centre-right government of the prime minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, is forecast to finish on about 18 percent.
While the Social Democrats look on course to take votes from the far-right DDP Party who have polled at just 11 percent of the vote.