A survey has revealed that the Blue Bloc is steaming ahead in the polls … well, in relation to attracting vaccine sceptic voters.
The HOPE project survey, which was conducted from September 2020 to July 2021, showed that right wing Nye Borgerlige (21 percent of voters) and Liberal Alliance (LA) (15 percent) had the highest share out of the major parties running in the coming local elections this month.
The survey responses were based on questioning voter positions on the vaccine and which party they voted for in the 2019 Parliamentary Elections.
People who responded ‘completely disagree’ or ‘partially disagree’ to the statement: “I would follow the advice of the health authorities if they recommend people like me to get an approved coronavirus vaccine” were considered to be vaccine sceptics.
Dansk Folkeparti came third in the survey with 9 percent, while Socialdemokratiet and Venstre has a much lower share at 3.3 percent each.
Nye Borgerlige’s scepticism of the government before and during the pandemic may be one reason they attract vaccine sceptics, according to Michael Bang Pedersen, a professor at Aarhus University and leader of the HOPE project.
“Nye Borgerlige’s voters are generally more sceptical of authorities and the political system. Therefore, they have lower confidence in the system, and confidence is one of the most central factors behind vaccine scepticism,” Pedersen told TV2 News.
Nye Borgerlige head Pernille Vermund said that she did not believe it is the responsibility of politicians to recommend vaccines to the population.
“I could never dream of starting to play the role of the health authority. It is so important to distinguish between the political track and the professional track,” said Vermund.
Another party with a high proportion of vaccine sceptics is LA. The head of LA, Alex Vanopslagh, underlined the importance of vaccines to be a free choice, regardless of his support for vaccines.
“You’ve not followed Danish politics closely if you associate LA with vaccine scepticism,” he said.
“LA was among the fiercest critics of the EU’s reluctance to vaccinate. We were at the forefront of the battle for the optional vaccines from Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca. LA has always been on the side of science and we have done so throughout the corona crisis. We support vaccines, but of course, respect people’s free choice.”
Parties such as Socialdemokratiet and Venstre have greater confidence in the entire political system, as they both are the two major governing parties, according to Petersen.
