By Lucas Honoré and Caroline Stephansen, Board Members
The Danish local and regional elections finally took place the 21st of November, after a long and intense period of campaigning. Our member organisation Radikal Ungdom had reason to celebrate, as all of their candidates together received 8139 personal votes! Their mother party, Radikale Venstre, did as well and is today represented in 55 out of 98 municipalities across the country. The party is also well positioned in the regional councils.
Celebrations on the eve of the elections! Picture: Radikal Ungdom
Out of 35 candidates, RU was able to get 4 people elected in the municipal councils and committees. One of the lucky four, was the former chairman of Radikal Ungdom, Christoper Røhl, who is now a member of the municipal council of Copenhagen. In his campaign, Røhl mainly focused on student housing and working for a greener city. His work seemed to pay off, as he received an impeccable amount of personal votes - 1009 to be exact! Radikal Venstre also increased their representation with 23 new representatives in 13 new municipalities. The party has now nationally 80 representatives in total. Despite the fact that the party has a reputation of being an urban party, candidates have been elected all across the country, which shows potential of realising socialliberal politics rurally as well. The socialliberal movement hopes that there will be development in the education sector, better conditions for children, free psychological assistance for young people and an increase of local private enterprises in the future.
Former leader of RU, Christopher Røhl, handing out coffee with his eager campaigning team! Picture: Radikal Ungdom
While the results have been jolly, there seems to have been some bumps on the way to victory. The vice mayor of Copenhagen, Anna Mee Allersley, got in trouble for having her wedding reception in the town hall without paying an the ordinary rental fee! This, unfortunately forced her to step down, but luckily, for the party, the new vice mayor is also from Radikale Venstre. This shows, above all, that voters have succeeded on focusing on politics, rather than accidental personal scandals!
The overwhelming result of the elections is without a doubt thanks to the enthusiastic volunteers, who have worked day and night throughout the whole election period! While there still isn't any demographic data of the voters, there is a consensus that the campaign has attracted young people, who can ascribe to the core values of RU. Hard work pays off and it seems like the socialliberal movement will continue to influence the politics of Denmark, also on a local and a regional level. Important topics in the future will be the environment, education and integration.
Pictures: copyright Radikal Ungdom