132-406: The politics of Denmark take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy , a constitutional monarchy and a decentralised unitary state in which the monarch of Denmark , King Frederik X , is the head of state . Denmark is a nation state . Danish politics and governance are characterized by a common striving for broad consensus on important issues, within both
264-429: A monarch is the head of state while the head of government is almost always a member of parliament , or parliamentary republics , where a mostly ceremonial president is the head of state while the head of government is from the legislature. In a few countries, the head of government is also head of state but is elected by the legislature. In bicameral parliaments, the head of government is generally, though not always,
396-541: A multi-party system . Ten parties are represented in parliament, while an additional three were qualified to contest the most recent 2019 general election but did not win any seats. The four oldest, and in history most influential, parties are the Conservative People's Party , the Social Democrats , Venstre (the name literally means "Left", but it is a right-wing liberal-conservative party) and
528-577: A public bill committee ; after that it became House of Lords Bill 33. Then it became House of Lords Bill 77, returned to the House of Commons as Bill 160, before finally being passed as Act 29. Parliament recommences numbering from one at the beginning of each session. This means that two different bills may have the same number. Sessions of parliament usually last a year. They begin with the State Opening of Parliament , and end with prorogation . In
660-485: A change in power without an election, and for allowing elections at any time. Bagehot considered fixed-term elections such as the four-year election rule for presidents of the United States to be unnatural, as it can potentially allow a president who has disappointed the public with a dismal performance in the second year of his term to continue on until the end of his four-year term. Under a parliamentary system,
792-653: A definite election calendar can be abused. Under some systems, such as the British, a ruling party can schedule elections when it believes that it is likely to retain power, and so avoid elections at times of unpopularity. (From 2011, election timing in the UK was partially fixed under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 , which was repealed by the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 .) Thus, by
924-472: A different party. In Canada and Australia, there are no restraints on legislators switching sides. In New Zealand, waka-jumping legislation provides that MPs who switch parties or are expelled from their party may be expelled from Parliament at the request of their former party's leader. A few parliamentary democracies such as the United Kingdom and New Zealand have weak or non-existent checks on
1056-554: A direct seat in the western Jutland constituency. On election night, Klaus Riskær Pedersen announced that he would dissolve his party. In the Faroe Islands, Republic (which had finished first in the 2015 elections) dropped to fourth place and lost their seat. The Union Party replaced them as the first party while the Social Democratic Party finished in second place again, retaining their seat. In Greenland,
1188-466: A directly elected lower house with the power to determine the executive government, and an upper house which may be appointed or elected through a different mechanism from the lower house. Scholars of democracy such as Arend Lijphart distinguish two types of parliamentary democracies: the Westminster and Consensus systems. Implementations of the parliamentary system can also differ as to how
1320-573: A dismissal would cause a constitutional crisis. On 28 March 1920, King Christian X was the last monarch to exercise the power of dismissal, sparking the 1920 Easter Crisis . All royal powers called royal prerogative , such as patronage to appoint ministers and the ability to declare war and make peace, are exercised by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, with the formal consent of the King. When
1452-475: A focus on public-sector efficiency and devolved responsibilities of local government on regional and municipal levels. The degree of transparency and accountability is reflected in the public's high level of satisfaction with the political institutions, while Denmark is also regularly considered one of the least corrupt countries in the world by international organizations. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Denmark as " full democracy " in 2016. According to
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#17327656891251584-550: A government with parties from both traditional blocs, and use the color purple to represent this. Similarly, The Alternative have refused their designation as a red party declaring they are a green party. The government performs the executive functions of the kingdom. The affairs of government are decided by the Cabinet , headed by the Prime Minister . The Cabinet and the Prime Minister are responsible for their actions to
1716-514: A law to be made it starts off as a bill and has to go through various stages: In the United Kingdom, a proposed new law starts off as a bill that goes through seven stages of the legislative process: first reading, second reading, committee stage, report stage, third reading, opposite house, and royal assent. A bill is introduced by a member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons or by
1848-464: A majority through a vote of investiture in parliament. It is due to the principle of negative parliamentarianism and its proportional representation system that Denmark has a long tradition of minority governments. Nevertheless, minority governments in Denmark sometimes have strong parliamentary majorities with the help of one or more supporting parties. The current government of the Social Democrats
1980-496: A member of the House of Lords . There will be a first reading of the bill, in which the proposition in the bill is read out, but there is minimal discussion and no voting. A second reading of the bill follows, in which the bill is presented in more detail and it is discussed between the MPs or Lords. The third stage is the committee stage , in which a committee is gathered. This may include MPs, Lords, professionals and experts in
2112-560: A member of the lower house . Parliamentary democracy is the dominant form of government in the European Union , Oceania , and throughout the former British Empire , with other users scattered throughout Africa and Asia . A similar system, called a council–manager government , is used by many local governments in the United States . The first parliaments date back to Europe in the Middle Ages. The earliest example of
2244-481: A motion of " no-confidence ". The opposition rarely requests motions of no-confidence, as the government is usually certain of its majority; however, government policy is often discussed in the plenary assembly of Parliament. Since 1953, the year that marked the reform of the Danish constitution, parliament has been unicameral . With the implementation of the first democratic constitution in 1849, Denmark's legislature
2376-411: A new government is to be formed, the monarch calls the party leaders to a conference of deliberation (known as a "kongerunde", meaning "king's round"), where the latter advise the monarch. On the basis of the advice, the monarch then appoints the party leader who commands a majority of recommendation to lead negotiations for forming a new government. According to the principles of constitutional monarchy,
2508-671: A new parliamentary election is called in which case the old government continues as a caretaker government until a new government can be formed. Since the 1990s, most governments have been coalition governments led by either Venstre or the Social Democrats. Until 2001, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (S) led a coalition with the Social Liberals, supported by the SPP and the Red-Green Alliance. A coalition of Venstre and
2640-447: A number of local branches with their own organization. In most cases the party members in parliament form their own group with autonomy to develop and promote party politics in parliament and between elections. Parties also have youth wings to promote engagement with the party among young people, such as Social Democratic Youth , Young Liberals , and Radikal Ungdom . Though coined in 1994 by then leader of Venstre Uffe Ellemann-Jensen ,
2772-551: A parliament is disputed, especially depending how the term is defined. For example, the Icelandic Althing consisting of prominent individuals among the free landowners of the various districts of the Icelandic Commonwealth first gathered around the year 930 (it conducted its business orally, with no written record allowing an exact date). The first written record of a parliament, in particular in
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#17327656891252904-589: A powerful president with an executive responsible to parliament: for example, the French Fifth Republic . Parliamentarianism may also apply to regional and local governments . An example is Oslo which has an executive council (Byråd) as a part of the parliamentary system. The devolved nations of the United Kingdom are also parliamentary and which, as with the UK Parliament , may hold early elections – this has only occurred with regards to
3036-476: A prime minister that has lost support in the middle of his term can be easily replaced by his own peers with a more popular alternative, as the Conservative Party in the UK did with successive prime ministers David Cameron , Theresa May , Boris Johnson , Liz Truss , and Rishi Sunak . Although Bagehot praised parliamentary governments for allowing an election to take place at any time, the lack of
3168-431: A rapid change in legislation and policy as long as there is a stable majority or coalition in parliament, allowing the government to have 'few legal limits on what it can do' When combined with first-past-the-post voting , this system produces the classic "Westminster model" with the twin virtues of strong but responsive party government. This electoral system providing a strong majority in the House of Commons, paired with
3300-532: A result, Danish laws are born of extensive negotiations and compromise. It is common practice for both sides of the Danish political spectrum to cooperate in the Folketing. The Folketing performs the legislative functions of the Kingdom. As a parliament, it is at the centre of the political system in Denmark, and is the supreme legislative body, operating within the confines of the constitution. The Prime Minister
3432-475: A sequential number and are prefixed with "Republic Act" or "R.A." for short. They are also given a secondary sequential number by the chamber they are introduced in. Aforementioned numberings restart every three years after the formation of a new Congress. In the United Kingdom, for example, the Coroners and Justice Act in 2009 started as Bill 9 in the House of Commons. Then it became Bill 72 on consideration by
3564-516: A shrewd timing of elections, in a parliamentary system, a party can extend its rule for longer than is feasible in a presidential system. This problem can be alleviated somewhat by setting fixed dates for parliamentary elections, as is the case in several of Australia's state parliaments. In other systems, such as the Dutch and the Belgian, the ruling party or coalition has some flexibility in determining
3696-489: A single-party government with support from the left-wing coalition. Frederiksen became prime minister on 27 June 2019. In November 2022 general election , Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's Social Democrats remained as the biggest party with two more seats, gaining its best result in two decades. The second biggest was Liberal Party (Venstre), led by Jakob Ellemann-Jensen . The recently formed Moderates party, led by two-time former Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, became
3828-401: A system of proportional representation for both national, local, and European Parliament elections . The parliament Folketinget uses a system with constituencies , and a system of allotment is indirectly prescribed in the constitution, ensuring a geographically and politically balanced distribution of the 179 seats. 135 members are proportionally elected in multi-member constituencies, while
3960-486: A warning example of the flaws of parliamentary systems that if the United States had a parliamentary system, Donald Trump , as head of government, could have dissolved the United States Congress . The ability for strong parliamentary governments to push legislation through with the ease of fused power systems such as in the United Kingdom, whilst positive in allowing rapid adaptation when necessary e.g.
4092-483: Is a lawyer who is elected by parliament to act as a watchdog over the government by inspecting institutions under government control, focusing primarily on the protection of citizens' rights. The Ombudsman frequently inspects places where citizens are deprived of their personal freedom, including prisons and psychiatric hospitals. While the Ombudsman has no power to personally act against the government, he or she can ask
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4224-556: Is based on its identity as a sovereign nation in Europe. As such its primary foreign policy focus is on its relations with other nations as a sovereign independent nation. Denmark has long had good relations with other nations. It has been involved in coordinating Western assistance to the Baltic states ( Estonia , Latvia , and Lithuania ). The country is a strong supporter of international peacekeeping . Danish forces were heavily engaged in
4356-601: Is drawn from parliament through the application of the Danish parliamentary principle (a majority must not exist in opposition to the government), and this process is also generally the case for the government also. The government is answerable to parliament through the principle of parliamentary control (question hour, general debates and the passing of resolutions or motions ). Ministers can be questioned by members of Parliament regarding specific government policy matters. General debates on broader issues of government policy may also be held in parliament and may also be followed by
4488-500: Is no upper house in New Zealand. Many of these countries such as Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados have severed institutional ties to Great Britain by becoming republics with their own ceremonial Presidents, but retain the Westminster system of government. The idea of parliamentary accountability and responsible government spread with these systems. Democracy and parliamentarianism became increasingly prevalent in Europe in
4620-461: Is rather what is often criticized about presidential systems. Fontaine compares United Kingdom's Margaret Thatcher to the United States' Ronald Reagan noting the former head of government was much more powerful despite governing under a parliamentary system. The rise to power of Viktor Orbán in Hungary has been claimed to show how parliamentary systems can be subverted. The situation in Hungary
4752-930: Is stable due to their support by the Social Liberal Party , Socialist People's Party , and the Red–Green Alliance and informally supported by The Alternative . The previous government coalition between Venstre (the Left), the Liberal Alliance , and the Conservatives had support from the Danish People's Party despite not being an official member of the government. This system enables minority parties to govern on specific issues through an ad hoc basis, selecting partners for support based on common interests instead of legislative need. As
4884-456: Is the third reading of the bill, in which the full bill is read out in the house along with all amendments and is given final approval by the House. The next stage is where the bill is handed over to the opposite house for approval. (If it started in the House of Commons it will be handed to the House of Lords and vice versa.) Here the bill will go through the same process as before, with amendments able to be brought. If amendments are brought,
5016-406: Is their ability to allow and accommodate more diverse viewpoints. He states that because "legislators are not compelled to vote against their constituents on matters of local concern, parties can serve as organizational and roll-call cuing vehicles without forcing out dissidents." All current parliamentary democracies see the indirect election or appointment of their head of government. As a result,
5148-553: Is to be defended actively. In recent years, Greenland and the Faroe Islands have been guaranteed a say in foreign policy issues, such as fishing , whaling and geopolitical concerns. Following World War II , Denmark ended its two-hundred-year-long policy of neutrality. Denmark has been a member of NATO since its founding in 1949, and membership in NATO remains highly popular. There were several serious confrontations between
5280-679: Is typically promulgated by being published in an official gazette . This may be required on enactment, coming into force, or both. Legislatures may give bills numbers as they progress. Bills are not given numbers in Australia and are typically cited by their short titles . They are only given an act number upon royal assent . In Brazil, bills originating in both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies are numbered sequentially, prefixed with "PL" ( Projeto de Lei ) and optionally suffixed with
5412-552: The 1708 Scottish Militia Bill . Whilst both the UK and New Zealand have some Acts or parliamentary rules establishing supermajorities or additional legislative procedures for certain legislation, such as previously with the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (FTPA), these can be bypassed through the enactment of another that amends or ignores these supermajorities away, such as with the Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019 – bypassing
Politics of Denmark - Misplaced Pages Continue
5544-729: The Dutch revolt (1581), when the sovereign, legislative and executive powers were taken over by the States General of the Netherlands from the monarch, King Philip II of Spain . Significant developments Kingdom of Great Britain , in particular in the period 1707 to 1800 and its contemporary, the Parliamentary System in Sweden between 1721 and 1772 , and later in Europe and elsewhere in the 19th and 20th centuries, with
5676-549: The Euro currency group in a referendum. The Lisbon treaty was ratified by the Danish parliament alone. It was not considered a surrendering of national sovereignty, which would have implied the holding of a referendum according to article 20 of the constitution. Parliamentary system A parliamentary system , or parliamentary democracy , is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their democratic legitimacy from their ability to command
5808-627: The Federal Constitutional Court has discretion to rule on bills. Some bills may require approval by referendum . In Ireland this is obligatory for bills to amend the constitution ; it is possible for other bills via a process that has never been used . A bill may come into force as soon as it becomes law, or it may specify a later date to come into force, or it may specify by whom and how it may be brought into force; for example, by ministerial order . Different parts of an act may come into force at different times. An act
5940-455: The Folketing (the parliament). Members of the Cabinet are given the title of " minister " and each hold a different portfolio of government duties. The day to day role of the cabinet members is to serve as head of one or more segments of the national bureaucracy, as head of the civil servants to which all employees in that department report. Enjoying the status of primus inter pares ,
6072-887: The French Third Republic where the Radical Party and its centre-left allies dominated the government for several decades. However, the rise of Fascism in the 1930s put an end to parliamentary democracy in Italy and Germany, among others. After the Second World War , the defeated fascist Axis powers were occupied by the victorious Allies . In those countries occupied by the Allied democracies (the United States , United Kingdom , and France ) parliamentary constitutions were implemented, resulting in
6204-589: The Glorious Revolution and passage of the Bill of Rights 1689 . In the Kingdom of Great Britain , the monarch, in theory, chaired the cabinet and chose ministers. In practice, King George I 's inability to speak English led to the responsibility for chairing cabinet to go to the leading minister, literally the prime or first minister, Robert Walpole . The gradual democratisation of parliament with
6336-404: The House of Commons of Canada , the pro forma bill is numbered C-1, Government Bills are numbered C-2 to C-200, numbered sequentially from the start of each parliamentary session , and Private member's bills are numbered C-201 to C-1000, numbered sequentially from the start of each Parliament. The numbering system is identical in the Senate of Canada , except that bills first introduced in
6468-599: The Landstinget was abolished, leaving only Folketinget . During the occupation of Denmark during the Second World War , on 29 August 1943, the German authorities dissolved the Danish government following the refusal of that government to crack down on unrest to the satisfaction of the German plenipotentiary. The cabinet resigned in 1943 and suspended operations (although the resignation was never accepted by King Christian X).—all day-to-day business had been handed over to
6600-621: The Maastricht Treaty on 2 June 1992, they put the EC's plans for the European Union on hold. In December 1992, the rest of the EC agreed to exempt Denmark from certain aspects of the European Union , including a common defense, a common currency, EU citizenship , and certain aspects of legal cooperation. The Amsterdam Treaty was approved in the referendum of 28 May 1998. In the autumn of 2000, Danish citizens rejected membership of
6732-484: The Northern Ireland Assembly in 2017 and 2022 . A few parliamentary democratic nations such as India , Pakistan and Bangladesh have enacted laws that prohibit floor crossing or switching parties after the election. Under these laws, elected representatives will lose their seat in the parliament if they go against their party in votes. In the UK parliament, a member is free to cross over to
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#17327656891256864-530: The Oireachtas and Knesset respectively became/become law immediately (though, in Israel's case, the laws are ceremonially signed after their passage by the president). In parliamentary systems , approval of the head of state is normally a formality since the head of state is a ceremonial figurehead. The exercise of the veto is considered a reserve power and is typically only used in rare circumstances, and
6996-543: The Privy Council of Ireland and Privy Council of England , so in practice each bill was substantively debated as "heads of a bill", then submitted to the privy councils for approval, and finally formally introduced as a bill and rejected or passed unamended. In the Westminster system , where the executive is drawn from the legislature and usually holds a majority in the lower house, most bills are introduced by
7128-423: The Social Liberal Party . However, demographics have been in favour of newer parties (such as the national conservative far-right Danish People's Party and the far-left Red-Green Alliance ). No two parties have exactly the same organization. It is however common for a party to have an annual convention which approves manifestos and elects party chairmen, a board of leaders, an assembly of representatives, and
7260-603: The V-Dem Democracy indices Denmark is 2023 the most electoral democratic country in the world. King Frederik X has reigned as King and head of state since 14 January 2024. In accordance with the Danish Constitution the monarch as head of state is the theoretical source of all executive and legislative power . However, since the introduction of parliamentary sovereignty in 1901, a de facto separation of powers has been in effect. The text of
7392-490: The Westminster system of government, with an executive answerable to the lower house of a bicameral parliament, and exercising, in the name of the head of state, powers nominally vested in the head of state – hence the use of phrases such as Her Majesty's government (in constitutional monarchies) or His Excellency's government (in parliamentary republics ). Such a system became particularly prevalent in older British dominions, many of which had their constitutions enacted by
7524-417: The common law of the United Kingdom , including the United States . The parts of a bill are known as clauses , until it has become an act of parliament, from which time the parts of the law are known as sections . In nations that have civil law systems (including France , Belgium , Luxembourg , Spain and Portugal ), a proposed law is known as a "law project" (Fr. projet de loi ) if introduced by
7656-490: The fused power system results in a particularly powerful government able to provide change and 'innovate'. The United Kingdom's fused power system is often noted to be advantageous with regard to accountability. The centralised government allows for more transparency as to where decisions originate from, this contrasts with the American system with Treasury Secretary C. Douglas Dillon saying "the president blames Congress,
7788-547: The legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive . Bills are introduced in the legislature and are there discussed, debated on, and voted upon. Once a bill has been enacted into law by the legislature, it is called an act of the legislature , or a statute . The word bill is mainly used in English-speaking nations formerly part of the British Empire whose legal systems originated in
7920-803: The parliamentary constitutions of Italy and West Germany (now all of Germany) and the 1947 Constitution of Japan . The experiences of the war in the occupied nations where the legitimate democratic governments were allowed to return strengthened the public commitment to parliamentary principles; in Denmark , a new constitution was written in 1953, while a long and acrimonious debate in Norway resulted in no changes being made to that country's strongly entrenched democratic constitution . A parliamentary system may be either bicameral , with two chambers of parliament (or houses) or unicameral , with just one parliamentary chamber. A bicameral parliament usually consists of
8052-552: The "blue bloc", only Venstre and the Conservative People's Party saw gains, the latter doubling their seats. The Danish People's Party's vote share fell by 12.4 percentage points (pp), well over half of their support. Leader Kristian Thulesen Dahl speculated that the bad result was due to an extraordinary good election in 2015, and that some voters felt they could "gain [their] policy elsewhere". The Liberal Alliance saw their vote share fall by over two-thirds and became
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#17327656891258184-613: The 1970s, and the first single-party government since Anker Jørgensen 's (S) fifth government in the early 1980s. After finding it difficult to govern with such a small government, Løkke invited the Conservatives and the Liberal Alliance to join his government in 2016, turning it into the Løkke III Cabinet . Following the 2019 general election the Social Democrats, led by leader Mette Frederiksen , formed
8316-578: The 2/3rd supermajority required for an early dissolution under the FTPA -, which enabled the early dissolution for the 2019 general election . Parliamentarism metrics allow a quantitative comparison of the strength of parliamentary systems for individual countries. One parliamentarism metric is the Parliamentary Powers Index. Parliamentary systems like that found in the United Kingdom are widely considered to be more flexible, allowing
8448-458: The Benelux countries require a sitting member of the legislature to resign such positions upon being appointed to the executive. Furthermore, there are variations as to what conditions exist (if any) for the government to have the right to dissolve the parliament: The parliamentary system can be contrasted with a presidential system which operates under a stricter separation of powers, whereby
8580-708: The British parliament; such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Irish Free State and the Union of South Africa . Some of these parliaments were reformed from, or were initially developed as distinct from their original British model: the Australian Senate , for instance, has since its inception more closely reflected the US Senate than the British House of Lords ; whereas since 1950 there
8712-558: The Congress blames the president, and the public remains confused and disgusted with government in Washington". Furthermore, ministers of the U.K. cabinet are subject to weekly Question Periods in which their actions/policies are scrutinised; no such regular check on the government exists in the U.S. system. A 2001 World Bank study found that parliamentary systems are associated with less corruption. In his 1867 book The English Constitution , Walter Bagehot praised parliamentary governments for producing serious debates, for allowing for
8844-454: The Conservatives, supported by the DPP, was then in power from 2001 to 2011, led first by Anders Fogh Rasmussen (V) and then from 2009 by Lars Løkke Rasmussen (V). The Liberal Alliance formed in 2007. After the 2011 election , Løkke was replaced by Helle Thorning-Schmidt (S), whose government consisted of the Social Democrats, the Social Liberals, and the SPP. The SPP left the government again in 2014, following heavy internal disagreement over
8976-408: The Danish constitution dates back to 1849. Therefore, it has been interpreted by jurists to suit modern conditions. In a formal sense, the monarch retains the ability to deny giving a bill royal assent . In order for a bill to become law, a royal signature and a countersignature by a government minister are required. The monarch also chooses and dismisses the Prime Minister, although in modern times
9108-426: The Faroe Islands are effectively self-governing in regards to domestic affairs, with their own legislatures and executives. However, the devolved legislatures are subordinate to the Folketing where the two territories are represented by two seats each. This state of affairs is referred to as the rigsfælleskab . In 2009 Greenland received greater autonomy in the form of "self-rule". The foreign policy of Denmark
9240-411: The Folketing are also members of the Cabinet. Members of the judiciary are nominated by the executive (conventionally by recommendation of the judiciary itself), formally appointed by the monarch and employed until retirement. Denmark has a multi-party system , with two large parties, and several other small but significant parties. No single party has held an absolute majority in the Folketing since
9372-522: The Permanent Secretaries, each effectively running his own ministry. The Germans administered the rest of the country, and the Danish Rigsdag did not convene for the remainder of the occupation until a new one was formed following the liberation on 5 May 1945. The Folketing is composed of 179 seats, of which two are reserved for the Faroe Islands and two for Greenland. The remaining 175 seats are taken up by MPs from elected in Denmark. All 179 seats are contested in elections held at least every four years and in
9504-498: The Prime Minister is primus inter pares , first among equals. Unlike many other countries, Denmark has no tradition of employing junior Ministers. A department acts as the secretariat to the Minister. Its functions comprises overall planning, development and strategic guidance on the entire area of responsibility of the Minister. The Minister's decisions are carried out by the permanent and politically neutral civil service within
9636-514: The Prime Minister is head of the Danish government (as taken to mean the Cabinet). The Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet are appointed by the Crown on basis of the party composition in the Folketing. No vote of confidence is necessary to install a new government after an election. If the Folketing expresses its lack of confidence in the Prime Minister, the entire cabinet must step down, unless
9768-597: The Senate of Canada begin with "S" instead of "C". In the Irish Oireachtas , bills are numbered sequentially from the start of each calendar year. Bills originating in the Dáil and Seanad share a common sequence. There are separate sequences for public and private bills, the latter prefixed with "P". Although acts to amend the constitution are outside the annual sequence used for other public acts, bills to amend
9900-484: The Social Democrats, the Social Liberals, Socialist People's Party and the Red–Green Alliance won 91 seats. Green party The Alternative chose to go into opposition as a "green bloc". The Social Democrats defended their position as the largest party, and won an additional seat despite a slightly reduced voter share. They were closely followed by Venstre, who saw the largest gains in seats, picking up an extra nine. In
10032-485: The U.S. and Denmark on security policy in the so-called "footnote era" (1982–88), when an alternative parliamentary majority forced the government to adopt specific national positions on nuclear and arms control issues. The alternative majority in these issues was because the Social liberal Party ( Radikale Venstre ) supported the governing majority in economic policy issues, but was against certain NATO policies and voted with
10164-458: The United States, all bills originating in the House of Representatives are numbered sequentially and prefixed with "H.R." and all bills originating from the Senate begin with an "S.". Every two years, at the start of odd-numbered years, the Congress recommences numbering from 1, though for bills the House has an order reserving the first 20 bill numbers and the Senate has similar measures for
10296-463: The approval of the head of state such as the monarch, president, or governor to become law. The refusal of such an approval is typically known as a veto . Exceptions are the Irish Free State from the abolition of the governor-general in December 1936 to the creation of the office of president in December 1937, and Israel from its formation until today, during which period bills approved by
10428-480: The beginning of the 20th century. Thirteen parties have ballot access for the 2019 Danish general election , three of which did not contest 2015 general election . Since only four post-war coalition governments have enjoyed a majority, government bills rarely become law without negotiations and compromise with both supporting and opposition parties. Hence, the Folketing tends to be more powerful than legislatures in other EU countries. The Constitution does not grant
10560-402: The bill will again be handed to the opposite house, going through the same process, which repeats until both houses arrive at an agreement on the bill. (In the rare circumstance that the two houses cannot agree, the House of Commons has the final say since it is an elected body, whereas the House of Lords is not). Once the bill is finalised, it will move to the final stage, royal assent , when
10692-498: The bill will be put into effect. The preparation of a bill may involve the production of a draft bill prior to the introduction of the bill into the legislature. In the United Kingdom, draft bills are frequently considered to be confidential. Pre-legislative scrutiny is a formal process carried out by a parliamentary committee on a draft bill. In the Parliament of India , the draft bill is sent to individual ministry relating to
10824-465: The broadening of the voting franchise increased parliament's role in controlling government, and in deciding whom the king could ask to form a government. By the 19th century, the Great Reform Act of 1832 led to parliamentary dominance, with its choice invariably deciding who was prime minister and the complexion of the government. Other countries gradually adopted what came to be called
10956-497: The capital, Copenhagen , than it does being elected in less populous areas. Voter turnout in general elections normally lies above 85%, but has been decreasing over time. Turnout is lower in local elections, and lower than that in European Parliament elections. Overall the election was a win for the "red bloc" – the parties that supported Mette Frederiksen, leader of the Social Democrats, as prime minister. In total,
11088-682: The communications staff is partisan and do not remain in their posts upon changes of government. As known in other parliamentary systems of government, the executive (the Cabinet) is accountable to the parliament (the Folketing). Under the Danish constitution , no government may remain in office with a majority against it. This is called negative parliamentarianism, as opposed to the principle of positive parliamentarianism—as in Germany and some other parliamentary systems—a government needs to achieve
11220-517: The constitution are within the annual sequence of public bills. In the Philippines , all bills passed into law, regardless of whether they were introduced in the House of Representatives or the Senate , are numbered sequentially beginning with the first Republic Act that became law on July 15, 1946. There have been 11,646 Republic Acts as of January 21, 2022. All laws passed by Congress, once given presidential assent, become law and are given
11352-464: The courts to take up cases where the government might be violating Danish law. The Ombudsman can criticize the government after an inspection and bring matters to public attention, and the government can choose to act upon or ignore his/her criticism, with whatever costs it might have towards the voters and the parliament. Iceland , Greenland , and the Faroe Islands used to be dependencies of Denmark. The Danish–Icelandic Act of Union (1918) changed
11484-586: The current Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte and his party the VVD 's 4 terms in office, despite their peak support reaching only 26.6% in 2012 . National Assembly elects the President who appoints the Prime Minister Bill (proposed law) A bill is a proposal for a new law, or a proposal to substantially alter an existing law. A bill does not become law until it has been passed by
11616-432: The day-to-day role as head of one or more segments of the government departments. The Danish executive consists of a number of government departments known as Ministries . These departments are led by a cabinet member and known as Minister for the relevant department or portfolio . In theory all Ministers are equal and may not command or be commanded by a fellow minister. Constitutional practice does however dictate, that
11748-496: The department. Unlike some democracies, senior civil servants remain in post upon a change of Government. The head of the department civil servants is the Permanent Secretary . In fact, the majority of civil servants work in executive agencies that are separate operational organizations reporting to the Minister. The Minister also has his own private secretary and communications personnel. Unlike normal civil servants,
11880-401: The distribution of cases between them. The monarch formally appoints and dismisses ministers, including the Prime Minister. That means that the number of cabinet positions and the organisation of the state administration into ministries are not set by law, but subject to change without notice. A coalition of many parties usually means a large cabinet and many ministries, while a small coalition or
12012-408: The election date. Conversely, flexibility in the timing of parliamentary elections can avoid periods of legislative gridlock that can occur in a fixed period presidential system. In any case, voters ultimately have the power to choose whether to vote for the ruling party or someone else. According to Arturo Fontaine , parliamentary systems in Europe have yielded very powerful heads of government which
12144-429: The electorate has limited power to remove or install the person or party wielding the most power. Although strategic voting may enable the party of the prime minister to be removed or empowered, this can be at the expense of voters first preferences in the many parliamentary systems utilising first past the post , or having no effect in dislodging those parties who consistently form part of a coalition government, as with
12276-509: The executive ( government bill ). In principle, the legislature meets to consider the demands of the executive, as set out in the King's Speech or speech from the throne . Mechanisms exist to allow other members of the legislature to introduce bills, but they are subject to strict timetables and usually fail unless a consensus is reached. In the US system, where the executive is formally separated from
12408-491: The executive does not form part of—nor is appointed by—the parliamentary or legislative body. In such a system, parliaments or congresses do not select or dismiss heads of government, and governments cannot request an early dissolution as may be the case for parliaments (although the parliament may still be able to dissolve itself, as in the case of Cyprus ). There also exists the semi-presidential system that draws on both presidential systems and parliamentary systems by combining
12540-440: The expansion of like institutions, and beyond In England, Simon de Montfort is remembered as one of the figures relevant later for convening two famous parliaments. The first , in 1258, stripped the king of unlimited authority and the second, in 1265, included ordinary citizens from the towns . Later, in the 17th century, the Parliament of England pioneered some of the ideas and systems of liberal democracy culminating in
12672-458: The field, and other people who the bill may affect. The purpose of this stage is to go into more detail on the bill and gather expert opinions on it (e.g. teachers may be present in a committee about a bill that would affect the education system) and amendments may be brought. After this is the report stage , in which the entire house reviews any and all changes made to the bill since its conception and may bring further amendments. The fifth stage
12804-430: The first 10 bills. Joint resolutions also have the same effect as bills, and are titled as "H. J. Res." or "S. J. Res." depending on whether they originated in the House or Senate, respectively. This means that two different bills can have the same number. Each two-year span is called a congress , tracking the terms of Representatives elected in the nationwide biennial House of Representatives elections, and each congress
12936-666: The former Yugoslavia in the UN Protection Force ( UNPROFOR ), with IFOR , and now SFOR . Denmark also strongly supported American operations in Afghanistan and has contributed both monetarily and materially to the ISAF . These initiatives are a part of the "active foreign policy" of Denmark. Instead of the traditional adaptative foreign policy of the small country, Denmark is today pursuing an active foreign policy, where human rights , democracy and other crucial values
13068-414: The government, or a "law proposition" (Fr. proposition de loi ) if a private member's bill . Some legislatures do not make this terminological distinction (for example the Dutch parliament uses wetsontwerp and wetsvoorstel interchangeably). Bills generally include titles , enacting provisions , statements of intent , definitions , substantive provisions , transitional clauses , and dates which
13200-498: The judiciary power of judicial review of legislation; however, the courts have asserted this power with the consent of the other branches of government. Since there are no constitutional or administrative courts , the Supreme Court also deals with constitutional matters. On many issues the political parties tend to opt for co-operation, and the Danish state welfare model receives broad parliamentary support. This ensures
13332-430: The last decade the political system has been one of stable majorities and rather long government tenures. Independent politicians running for parliament need about 15,000-20,000 votes in the electoral district they ran in. Since the 1953 constitution of Denmark, only one independent, Jacob Haugaard , has been successful in doing this. Only two politicians have done this in the history of the Danish parliament. Denmark uses
13464-523: The left in these issues. The conservative led Centre-right government accepted this variety of "minority parliamentarism", that is, without making it a question of the government's parliamentary survival. With the end of the Cold War , however, Denmark has been supportive of U.S. policy objectives in the Alliance. Danes have enjoyed a reputation as "reluctant" Europeans. When they rejected ratification of
13596-555: The legislative power of their Parliaments, where any newly approved Act shall take precedence over all prior Acts. All laws are equally unentrenched, wherein judicial review may not outright annul nor amend them, as frequently occurs in other parliamentary systems like Germany . Whilst the head of state for both nations ( Monarch , and or Governor General ) has the de jure power to withhold assent to any bill passed by their Parliament, this check has not been exercised in Britain since
13728-403: The legislature can usually override the veto by a simple majority vote. However, in most cases, the executive – a cabinet of ministers responsible to parliament – takes a veto by the head of state into account. In presidential systems , the head of state is also the chief executive, and the need to receive approval can be used as a political tool by them. The legislature is only able to override
13860-420: The legislature, all bills must originate from the legislature. Bills can be introduced using the following procedures: Bills are generally considered through a number of readings. This refers to the historic practice of the clerical officers of the legislature reading the contents of a bill to the legislature. While the bill is no longer read, the motions on the bill still refer to this practice. In India , for
13992-614: The matter. From there the bill goes to the Ministry of Law and Justice and then is passed on to the Cabinet committee which the prime minister heads. Pre-legislative scrutiny is required in much of Scandinavia, occurs in Ireland at the discretion of the Oireachtas (parliament) and occurs in the UK at the government's discretion. In the Parliament of Ireland under Poynings' Law (1494–1782) legislation had to be pre-approved by
14124-409: The monarch signs or otherwise signifies approval for the bill to become law. Theoretically, the monarch could refuse assent to a bill, but no monarch has done so since Queen Anne in 1708, and the royal veto has fallen into disuse. Once the assent is granted, the law comes into effect at the date and time specified within the act; if this is not specified within the act, it comes into effect at midnight on
14256-480: The monarch's role is largely ceremonial today, restricted in his or her exercise of power by the convention of parliamentary democracy and the separation of powers. However, the monarch does continue to exercise three rights: the right to be consulted; the right to advise; and the right to warn. Pursuant to these ideals, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet attend the regular meeting of the Council of State . Denmark has
14388-615: The nationalisation of services during the world wars, in the opinion of some commentators does have its drawbacks. For instance, the flip-flopping of legislation back and forth as the majority in parliament changed between the Conservatives and Labour over the period 1940–1980, contesting over the nationalisation and privatisation of the British Steel Industry resulted in major instability for the British steel sector. In R. Kent Weaver's book Are Parliamentary Systems Better? , he writes that an advantage of presidential systems
14520-403: The planned sale of state-owned shares in the company DONG (now known as Ørsted). The Social Democrats and Social Liberals continued in power, with SPP and Red-Green support, until the 2015 election when Løkke returned to power in a single-party Venstre government. The Løkke II Cabinet held only 34 seats in the Folketing, making it the narrowest since Poul Hartling 's (V) 22-seat government in
14652-471: The political community and society as a whole. Executive power is exercised by the cabinet of Denmark (commonly known as "the Government", Danish: regeringen ), presided over by the Prime Minister ( statsminister ) who is first among equals . Legislative power is exercised by the Folketing , the unicameral parliament, and secondarily by the Cabinet , although it is common that members of
14784-440: The present parliament, all seats are taken up by members belonging to a political party. All parties receiving more than 2% of the votes are represented in parliament. Comparatively, this is quite low; in Sweden the minimum level of support necessary for getting into parliament is 4%. Often, this has led to the representation of many parties in parliament, and correspondingly complex or unstable government majorities. However, during
14916-437: The prime minister and government are appointed and whether the government needs the explicit approval of the parliament, rather than just the absence of its disapproval. While most parliamentary systems such as India require the prime minister and other ministers to be a member of the legislature, in other countries like Canada and the United Kingdom this only exists as a convention, some other countries including Norway, Sweden and
15048-405: The rare one-party-government means fewer, larger ministries. In June 2015 in the wake of the parliamentary election , the cabinet had 17 members including the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister leads the work of the Cabinet and is minister for constitutional affairs, overseas territories and for the affairs of the press. The seventeen cabinet ministers hold different portfolios of duties, including
15180-447: The remaining 40 seats are allotted nationwide in proportion to the total number of votes a party or list receives. The Faroe Islands and Greenland elect two members each. Parties must pass a threshold of 2% of the total vote to be guaranteed parliamentary representation. As a consequence of the system, the number of votes required to be elected to parliament varies across the country; it generally requires fewer votes to be elected in
15312-656: The responsibility of the Ministry of Justice , which was also charged with the overall administration of the justice system. On accusations of nepotism and in-group bias , the Ministry in 1999 set up two autonomous boards : the Judicial Appointments Council and the Danish Courts Administration, responsible for court appointments and administration, respectively. The Danish Parliamentary Ombudsman , Jørgen Steen Sørensen,
15444-419: The result was a repeat of the 2015 elections, with Inuit Ataqatigiit and Siumut winning the two seats. Siumut regained parliamentary representation after their previous MP, Aleqa Hammond, was expelled from the party in 2016. Hammond later joined Nunatta Qitornai, which finished fourth and failed to win a seat. The following is the number of constituency seats for each party with each asterix (*) indicating one of
15576-413: The same day it is granted royal assent. Where a piece of primary legislation is termed an act , the process of a bill becoming law may be termed enactment . Once a bill is passed by the legislature, it may automatically become law, or it may need further approval, in which case enactment may be effected by the approver's signature or proclamation . Bills passed by the legislature usually require
15708-405: The same effect; the presidential election, and the legislative election, and that the president's party has the legislative supermajority required for constitutional amendments. Safeguards against this situation implementable in both systems include the establishment of an upper house or a requirement for external ratification of constitutional amendments such as a referendum . Fontaine also notes as
15840-588: The seats won was a levelling seat. Social Democrats (Socialdemokraterne) was the biggest party with 50 Denmark seats, gaining two more seats. Liberal Party (Venstre) was the second with 23 Denmark seats, losing 20 seats. The third was the biggest winner, recently founded Moderates (Moderaterne) with 16 Denmark seats. Green Left (Socialistisk Folkeparti) secured 15 seats. In 2022 founded anti-immigration, far-right Denmark Democrats (Danmarksdemokraterne) and Liberal Alliance secured both 14 seats. Denmark has an independent and highly professional judiciary. Unlike
15972-467: The sense of an assembly separate from the population called in presence of a King was 1188 Alfonso IX, King of Leon (Spain) convened the three states in the Cortes of León . The Corts of Catalonia were the first parliament of Europe that officially obtained the power to pass legislation, apart from the custom. An early example of parliamentary government developed in today's Netherlands and Belgium during
16104-499: The smallest party in the Folketing, only 0.3pp above the 2% election threshold . Their leader Anders Samuelsen was not reelected and he subsequently resigned as leader, succeeded by Alex Vanopslagh . Of the new parties, only New Right won seats, with Hard Line, the Christian Democrats and Klaus Riskær Pedersen failing to cross the national 2% threshold, although the Christian Democrats were within 200 votes of winning
16236-450: The status of Iceland into that of a kingdom in personal union with Denmark. Iceland remained subordinate to Denmark until independence in 1944 amidst World War II. In the nineteenth century Greenland and the Faroe Islands were given the status of counties, and their own legislatures were disbanded, becoming integral parts of a unitary state . They later gained home rule ; the Faroe Islands in 1948 and Greenland in 1979. Today Greenland and
16368-449: The support ("confidence") of a majority of the legislature , to which they are held accountable. This head of government is usually, but not always, distinct from a ceremonial head of state . This is in contrast to a presidential system, which features a president who is not fully accountable to the legislature, and cannot be replaced by a simple majority vote. Countries with parliamentary systems may be constitutional monarchies , where
16500-639: The terms red bloc and blue bloc first became mainstream around the 2011 Danish general election . Left-wing parties are described as belonging to the red bloc while right-wing parties belong to the blue bloc. The Social Democrats and Venstre have historically served as the de facto leaders of the red and blue bloc respectively, though in 2022 leader of the blue bloc party Conservative People's Party Søren Pape Poulsen declared his prime minister candidacy alongside leader of Venstre Jakob Ellemann-Jensen . The Moderates , founded in 2021 by former prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen , rebuke bloc politics and support
16632-528: The third-biggest party in Denmark. In December 2022, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen formed a new coalition government with her Social Democrats and the Liberal Party and the Moderates party. Jakob Ellemann-Jensen became deputy prime minister and defence minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen was appointed foreign minister. According to section 14 of the constitution, the king sets the number of ministers and
16764-455: The vast majority of civil servants, Danish judges are appointed directly by the Monarch. However, since the constitution ensures the independence of the judiciary from Government and Parliament in providing that judges shall only take into account the laws of the country (i.e., acts, statutes and practices), the procedure on appointments is only a formality. Until 1999 appointment of judges was
16896-477: The veto by means of a supermajority vote. In some jurisdictions, a bill passed by the legislature may also require approval by a constitutional court . If the court finds the bill would violate the constitution it may annul it or send it back to the legislature for correction. In Ireland, the president has discretion under Article 26 of the Constitution to refer bills to the Supreme Court . In Germany,
17028-552: The year they were proposed, separated by a slash, as in PL 1234/1988. Until 2019, each house used a different numbering and naming system, but the system was unified by a 2018 joint act by the secretaries of both houses. Before the 2019 unification, the Senate numbered bills starting at the beginning of each year, while the lower house numbered bills starting at the beginning of each legislature. This meant that bills sent from one house to another could adopt two or more different names. In
17160-763: The years after World War I , partially imposed by the democratic victors, the United States, Great Britain and France, on the defeated countries and their successors, notably Germany's Weimar Republic and the First Austrian Republic . Nineteenth-century urbanisation , the Industrial Revolution and modernism had already made the parliamentarist demands of the Radicals and the emerging movement of social democrats increasingly impossible to ignore; these forces came to dominate many states that transitioned to parliamentarism, particularly in
17292-568: Was according to Fontaine allowed by the deficient separation of powers that characterises parliamentary and semi-presidential systems. Once Orbán's party got two-thirds of the seats in Parliament in a single election, a supermajority large enough to amend the Hungarian constitution, there was no institution that was able to balance the concentration of power. In a presidential system it would require at least two separate elections to create
17424-552: Was constituted as a bicameral parliament, or Rigsdag , composed of Folketinget (a lower house of commoners) and Landstinget (an upper house containing lords, landowners and industrialists). In 1901, parliamentarism was introduced to the Danish Parliament, which made Folketinget the essential chamber, as no sitting government could have a majority against it in Folketinget. With the constitutional reform of 1953
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