Pia Kjærsgaard

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Pia Merete Kjærsgaard
Leader of the Danish People's Party
Member of Parliament
Born February 23, 1947
Copenhagen

Pia Merete Kjærsgaard (pronounced [⁽ˈ⁾pʰi(ː)æ ˈkʰjɛɐ̯ˀsg̊ɒːˀ]; born February 23, 1947 in Copenhagen) is a Danish politician. She is a co-founder and current leader of the Danish People's Party, ("Dansk Folkeparti"), a Danish nationalist political party. She is one of the most well-known political personas in Denmark in recent years, partly for her firm view on immigration politics and partly for her role as indispensable parlamentary support since 2001 for the centre right government led by Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Contents

[edit] Background

Kjærsgaard was born in Copenhagen, to Poul Kjærsgaard, a paint dealer, and Inge Munch Jensen, a housewife.

After completion of Folkeskole in 1963, she attended the Commercial School in Copenhagen (1963-1965).

From 1963 to 1967, she worked as a home care assistant for elders in Gentofte. Next, from 1978 to 1984, she was employed as an office assistant in connection with insurance and advertising activities.

[edit] Political career

[edit] Parliament

Kjærsgaard began her political career as the Progress Party's candidate in the Ryvang nomination district (1979–1981), followed by the Ballerup and Gladsaxe nomination district (1981-1983), the Hvidovre nomination district (1983–1984), and finally, the Middelfart nomination district (1984–1995).

In 1984, while still with the Progress Party, she secured her first seat in the Folketing (Danish parliament), representing the Copenhagen County constituency (10 January 1984 – 8 September 1987). She next represented the Funen County constituency (8 September 1987 – 6 October 1995).

In 1995, as things were growing increasingly chaotic and anarchic in the Progress Party, Kjærsgaard broke away to co-found the Danish People's Party (DPP). She stood as the DPP candidate in the Glostrup nomination district in 1997, followed by the Hellerup and Gentofte nomination district (1997-2005). As a DPP candidate, she won a seat in the Folketing, representing the Funen County constituency (6 October 1995 – 11 March 1998).

As support for the Progress Party subsequently dwindled away, the DPP grew. By 2001, it had become the third largest party in the Folketing, securing 12% of the vote.

In the 2005 election, the DPP's share grew to 13.2%, with Kjærsgaard receiving 38,347 "personal votes", second to only the Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

[edit] The Danish People's Party

Although the Danish People's Party is aligned ideologically with other European far right parties, with a nativist[1] as well as a toughness on crime platform, the party has also adopted some social policy issues traditionally belonging to Social Democrats.

The DPP achieved considerable success in the 2001 elections, becoming the third largest party in the Folketing. As such they often work with the minority government led by Anders Fogh Rasmussen's Liberal Party. Using this partnership the DPP has been able to push through many of its policy platforms.

In both the 2005 and the 2007 election, the DPP maintained its position as third largest in the Folketing.

[edit] Views, positions, and goals

Kjærsgaard's most outspoken political goals are to limit immigration to Denmark, that society should take better care of the elderly, and that Denmark should maintain its sovereignty, especially with regards to the European Union. In the euro referendum she campaigned successfully for the Danish Krone and against the Euro.

Her view on immigration has often led to her being compared to politicians such as Jean-Marie Le Pen in France and Pim Fortuyn in The Netherlands.[2]

[edit] Controversies and incidents

In 1998 Kjærsgaard escaped a physical assault by youths in Copenhagen.[3]

In 2002 Kjærsgaard was fined DKK 3,000 for threatening a woman with pepper spray, the use of which is illegal in Denmark. Kjærsgaard said she pulled out the spray after feeling 'intimidated and threatened' by the woman's behaviour. Kjærsgaard subsequently proclaimed her intention to lobby for a change in weapon possession legislation.[4]

In 2003, Kjærsgaard lost a libel suit in the Danish Supreme Court against a political opponent who had characterized her viewpoints as racist.[5] The court cited past speeches made by Kjærsgaard.

In 2007, at the opening of Folketinget, Kjærsgaard claimed to have been verbally assaulted and blamed Socialist People's Party's youth group (SFU) for the incident, and demanded an apology from Villy Søvndal (leader of the party). A video of the incident shows no sign of SFU, but a group from Socialistisk Ungdoms Front singing songs and throwing confetti.[citation needed]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ “They Sometimes Go To Extremes”. TIME europe (May 6, 2002). Retrieved on 2006-09-26.
  3. ^ “Video tape must be surrendered”. The Copenhagen Post (May 21, 1998). Retrieved on 2006-12-25.
  4. ^ “MP fined”. The Copenhagen Post (March 3, 2003). Retrieved on 2006-09-26.
  5. ^ “Racism ruling”. The Copenhagen Post (June 20, 2003). Retrieved on 2006-12-25.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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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 Welfare: Parties eligible to run in Danish parliamentary elections