TRUE OR FAKE. Has the Danish far right fallen thanks to the centre-left migration policy, as Olivier Véran asserts?

“I meet with the leaders of the Danish political class to understand how the centre-left has operated an ideological mutation, which has allowed it to bring down the extreme right in Denmark.” These are the words of Olivier Véran, in a Twitter video. According to him, the extreme right has increased to 2%.

But this number is misleading to say the least. In the 2015 legislative elections, the extreme right with the Danish People’s Party, won 21% of the vote. In the 2022 elections, this same party actually fell to 2% of the vote. But he is no longer the only one to represent this political tendency. Today, there is also the New Right, at 4%, and the Denmark Democrats at 8%. The far right has certainly fallen, but it still represents 14% of the votes, and not 2%, as Olivier Véran asserts.

An ideological shift in the centre-left government

What about the ideological shift in the centre-left government? According to Frederik Hjorth, a specialist in Danish politics, this is true. “The Social Democrats’ strategy of embracing more right-wing ideas on migration issues enabled them to take votes from the Danish People’s Party. Enough to make a difference in the elections”, explains the specialist. An effective strategy, even if it is not in the proportions announced by Olivier Véran.