Support for what was once Denmark's largest party has hit a new low, after a recent poll placed Socialdemokraterne (S) behind opposition parties Venstre (V) and Dansk Folkeparti (DF) as the nation's third largest.
The YouGov/metroXpress poll marks the first time S, polling at 17.2 percent, would be eclipsed by the right-wing DF, polling at 17.4 percent.
During its heyday in the 1960s, Socialdemokraterne, the architect of the the nation's social welfare system, received over 30 percent of the vote.
The poll seemed to be a stern rebuke for PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt's ruling party, which released its 'Vækstplan DK' (Growth Plan DK) Tuesday which slashed student grants and unemployment benefits while lowering corporate taxes by several billion kroner.
DF party chairman Kristian Thulesen Dahl expressed surprised at the results, but said S was simply reaping the bitter fruits of its failed policies.
“They are engaged in a reverse Robin Hood policy,” Dahl told metroXpress. “They are taking money from some of those with the lowest incomes to cut taxes for large companies, so people are turning their backs on them.”
Other recent polls have shown S gaining ground, but spokesperson Magnus Heunicke declined to speculate on the reasons behind the newest results.
The poll would give the opposition 103 seats in parliament, a 17-seat gain on the 2011 election, and put V leader Lars Løkke Rasmussen back in the prime minister’s office. The goverment and its allies would win 72 seats.
According to a Ritzau/Voxmeter poll, the opposition stands to win 98 seats, while the government and its allies would slide to 77 seats. That poll however, found S with 20.5 percent voter support, compared with DF's 14.3 percent.
