Det Radikale Venstre

Danish Social Liberal Party Det Radikale Venstre
Organizational leader	Søren Bald
Political leader	Margrethe Vestager
Founded	1905
Headquarters	Christiansborg 1240 København K
Official ideology/ political position	Social Liberalism
International affiliation	Liberal International
Website	http://www.radikale.dk

Det Radikale Venstre (literally: The Radical Left) is a social liberal party in Denmark. It is officially translated by the party as Danish Social Liberal Party. A more traditional English-language name is the Radical Liberal Party.

Contents 1 Origin and alliances 2 Electoral record 3 Internal conflicts 4 2007 elections 5 Relationships to other parties 6 International comparison 7 Prominent members 7.1 Party chairmen 7.2 Parliamentary group leaders 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

Origin and alliances

The party is a member of Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party. It was founded in 1905 as a split from the liberal Venstre Reform Party. The literal translation radical left is nowadays somewhat misleading, as the party is traditionally described as being in the center of the left-right political scale. The use of the word for "left" in the name of the former mother party Venstre and the Norwegian party Venstre is meant to refer to Liberalism and not Socialism.

Electoral record

The party president is Søren Bald and it has sixteen members of parliament. By far the most prominent member, however, is former parliament group leader and spokesperson Marianne Jelved, former vice prime minister and minister of economic affairs. The party is currently in opposition. The party performed well at the 2005 elections. It came out with 9.2% of the popular vote and 17 seats in Parliament, a gain of eight seats. After the 2007 elections, the party lost 8 seats and now has a total of 9. The party remains in opposition to the right-wing coalition, led by the Liberal Party. Lately the party has been inspired by Richard Florida's book "The rise of the Creative Class". The party have also released their own book/political program called "Det kreative Danmark" (The Creative Denmark). Current issues high on the agenda for the party are:

• Strong opposition to the tight immigration policies of the current government, particularly the 24 year rule (a measure that prevents foreign spouses of Danish citizens from gaining residence permits if either is under the age of 24, officially to avoid forced marriages).
• Opposition to the educational policies of the current government, which according to the party stresses centralization, nationalized testing and old-fashioned educational ideas over creativeness, methodical freedom of teachers and personal development of pupils.
• A major tax reform, which should simplify the tax system in such a way that income taxes will be reduced in favour of more environmental taxes, less tax deductions and higher taxes on real estate. The point of this is to make working more attractive and the hiring of service workers more attractive. This implies that the party is also opposed to the current government's "tax freeze" (skattestop) which prohibits any tax increases, but also changes of the taxation pattern.

Internal conflicts

Some prominent members of the party have criticised the current strategy as being too left-leaning and depending too much on the Social Democrats. On 7 May 2007 MP Naser Khader and MEP Anders Samuelsen announced that they had left the party and founded the New Alliance party along with Conservative MEP Gitte Seeberg. During the following debate the party first distanced itself from the Social Democrats, but after being criticized internally for that too, returned to an oppositional role. In the election in November 2007 the party was reduced by almost half, many voters leaving for New Alliance, but even more for the Socialist People's Party.

2007 elections

At a press release on 15 June 2007, it was announced that MP Margrethe Vestager would take over the leadership of the party after Marianne Jelved, and that the party would rethink its strategy and will now consider forming a coalition government with either the left or right side of parliament.^[1] Vestager clarified during the run-up to the 2007 election that her party would only be supporting a government lead by the Social Democrats. In the 2007 parliamentary elections, it received 5.1% of the vote, and 9 out of 179 seats.

Relationships to other parties

The party has traditionally kept it self in the center of the political scale, however since the nineties, they have cooperated mainly with the Social Democratic Party, and thus supported the left side of the parliament. During the recent 2007 election, the possibility of cooperating with Liberal/Conservative government has been a major source of debate inside the party, but was rejected by the parliamentary group leader Margrethe Vestager.

International comparison

RV would be comparable to Green parties in most of Europe and North America, being economically centrist to centre-left, culturally left-wing, and in tune with the post-materialist politics of the new middle class. In Britain, this would place them on the left-wing of the Liberal Democrats, while in France or Germany, RV would best be compared with the right-wings of the social-democratic parties. The Dutch D'66 is one of its closest sister parties ideologically.

Prominent members

Party chairmen

• 1905-1915, Jørgen Hald
• 1915-1920, Kristen Tovborg Jensen
• 1920-1922, Anders Larsen
• 1922-1924, Erik Scavenius
• 1924-1929, Niels Peter Andreasen
• 1929-1936, Martin Sørensen
• 1936-1937, N. C. Andersen
• 1937-1960, Hans Jeppesen
• 1960-1964, Helge Pedersen
• 1964-1971, Søren Bjerregaard
• 1971-1974, Asger Baunsbak-Jensen
• 1974-1976, Gunnar Skov Andersen
• 1976-1978, Kresten Helveg Petersen
• 1978-1991, Thorkild Møller
• 1991-1993, Grethe Erichsen
• 1993-1997, Margrethe Vestager
• 1997-2000, Johannes Lebech
• 2000-2001, Lone Loklindt (acting)
• 2001-, Søren Bald

References: ^[2]

Parliamentary group leaders

Parliamentary group leaders in the Folketing:

• 1905-1909, Carl Theodor Zahle
• 1909-1910, Ove Rode
• 1910-1913, Carl Theodor Zahle
• 1913-1916, Thorvald Povlsen
• 1916-1920, Carl Slengerik
• 1920-1928, Carl Theodor Zahle
• 1929-1934, Niels Frederiksen
• 1934-1935, Jørgen Peter Laurits Jørgensen
• 1935-1945, Axel Marius Hansen
• 1945-1957, Jørgen Peter Laurits Jørgensen
• 1957-1961, Aage Fogh
• 1962-1964, Jacob Kierkegaard
• 1964-1968, Karl Skytte
• 1968-1970, Bernhard Baunsgaard
• 1970-1971, Svend Haugaard
• 1971-1975, Hilmar Baunsgaard
• 1975-1978, Svend Haugaard
• 1978-1988, Niels Helveg Petersen
• 1988-1993, Marianne Jelved
• 1993-1994, Jens Bilgrav-Nielsen
• 1994-2000, Jørgen Estrup
• 2000-2001, Elisabeth Arnold
• 2001-2007, Marianne Jelved
• 2007-, Margrethe Vestager

References: ^[2][1]

See also

• Liberalism
• Contributions to liberal theory
• Liberalism worldwide
• List of liberal parties
• Liberal democracy
• Liberalism and radicalism in Denmark
• Radikal Ungdom the youth wing of the party

References

External links

• Det Radikale Venstre official site
• English summary
• Web site of the party's youth organisation (mainly in Danish)

•  • e Member parties of international liberal organizations
Liberal International: *=Observer member	Andorra: PLA – Angola PLD – Argentina: Recrear* –Austria: LIF – Belgium: MR - VLD – Bulgaria: DPS - NDSV – Burkina Faso: ADF-RDA* - Cambodia: PSR* - Canada: Liberal Party - DR Congo: ANADER * – Costa Rica: PML – Côte d’Ivoire: RDR – Croatia: HNS-LD* – HSLS – Cuba: PLC – PSD – ULC – Denmark: RV - Venstre – Equatorial Guinea: UDENA – Estonia: Reform – Finland: Keskusta – SFP – Georgia: RPG* - Germany: FDP – Gibraltar: Liberal Party – Guatemala : MR* – Honduras: PLH – Hungary: SzDSz – Iceland: FSF – Ireland: PD* – Israel: Shinui - Italy: FdLI* - Kenya LDP* - Kosovo: PLK* – Latvia: LC – Lithuania: LCU – NU-SL* – Luxembourg: DP – Macedonia: LDP – Madagascar: MFM* - Malawi: UDF – Mali - PCR* - Mexico: NA* – Moldova: PSL – Montenegro: LSCG – Morocco: AdL* - UC - MP – Netherlands : D66 - VVD – Nicaragua: ALN* - Norway: Venstre – Paraguay: PLRA – Philippines: PL – Romania: PNL – Russia: Yabloko - Senegal: PDS – Serbia: LS – Seychelles: SNP* - Slovakia: ANO – Slovenia: LDS – South Africa: DA – Spain: UM – Sri Lanka: LP – Sweden: Cp* - FpL – Switzerland: FDP - PLS – Taiwan: DPP (民進黨) – Tanzania: CCW/CUF – Tunisia : PSL* - United Kingdom: APNI - Lib Dems - Zambia: UNDP* National groups: Brazil: Brazilian Group*– German Group – Israeli Group - Italian Group* – Netherlands Group - Catalan Group - British Group
European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party :	Andorra: LPA - Austria: LIF - Belgium: VLD - MR - Bosnia and Herzegovina: LDS - Bulgaria: ДПС - НДСВ - Croatia: HNS-LD - HSLS - IDS - Cyprus: ΕΔ - Czech Republic: ODA - Denmark: RV - Venstre - Estonia:KESK - Reform - Finland: Keskusta - SFP - Germany: FDP - Hungary: SzDSz - Ireland: PD - Italy: MRE - RAD - PRI - IDV - Latvia: LC - Lithuania: LCU - LRLS - NS-SL - Luxembourg: DP - Macedonia: ЛПМ - ЛДП - Moldova: AMN - Netherlands: D66 - VVD - Norway: Venstre - Poland: PD - Romania: NLP - Russia: Яблоко - Serbia: ЛС - PLK (Kosovo)- Slovakia: ANO - Slovenia: LDS - Spain: CDC - UM - Sweden: Cp - FpL - Switzerland: FDP - United Kingdom: Lib Dems - APNI Youth organization: LYMEC
Other parties in the ALDE EP Group:	Cyprus: DIKO - France: UDF* - Italy: Margherita* - Lithuania: DP* - Romania: PC - Spain: PNV* The parties marked with an * are member of the European Democratic Party
Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats	Cambodia: PSR - Malaysia: PGRM - Myanmar: NCUB – Pakistan: LFP (ass. member) - Philippines: LP – Singapore: SDP - Sri Lanka: LP - Taiwan: DPP (民進黨) - Thailand: DP
Africa Liberal Network	Angola: PLD – Burkina Faso: ADF-RDA – DR Congo: ANADER - Côte d’Ivoire: RDR - Equatorial Guinea: UDENA – Madagascar: MFM – Malawi: UDF - Morocco: MP – UC – Mozambique: PDD – Senegal: PDS – Seychelles: SNP – South Africa: DA – Tanzania: CUF - UDP – Tunisia: PSL – Zambia: UNDP – Zimbabwe: MDC
Liberal Network for Latin America (Relial)	Argentina: Recrear – PPG - Costa Rica: PML – Guatemala: MR – Mexico: NA – Peru: Justicia Nacional

•  • e Political parties in Denmark
Represented in the Folketing:	Venstre (46) · Social Democrats (45) · Danish People's Party (25) · Socialist People's Party (23) · Conservative People's Party (17) · Danish Social Liberal Party (9) · New Alliance (5) · Red-Green Alliance (4) · Siumut (Greenland) (1) · Inuit Ataqatigiit (Greenland) (1) · Union Party (Faroe Islands) (1) · Republican Party (Faroe Islands) (1) · Independent (1)
Represented in the European Parliament:	Social Democrats (5) · Venstre (3) · Conservative People's Party (1) · Danish Social Liberal Party (1) · Danish People's Party (1) · Socialist People's Party (1) · June Movement (1) · People's Movement against the EU (1)
· List of political parties · Politics of Denmark

•  • e  Danish parliamentary election, 2007
Parties running in Denmark proper Venstre • Social Democrats • Danish People's Party • Conservative People's Party • Danish Social Liberal Party • Socialist People's Party • Red-Green Alliance • Christian Democrats • New Alliance	Parties running in the Faroe Islands People's Party • Republican Party • Centre Party • Self-Government Party • Social Democratic Party • Union Party	Parties running in Greenland Forward • Inuit Community • Democrats • Feeling of Community
Candidates for Prime Minister: Fogh Rasmussen • Thorning-Schmidt
Other notable candidates: Barfod • Bendtsen • Khader • Kjærsgaard • Kornbek • Søvndal • Vestager
Ministry of the Interior: Parties eligible to run in Danish parliamentary elections