Danish Leader’s Strategy

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31221, 19 November 1966, Page 15

Danish Leader’s Strategy

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter —Copyright) COPENHAGEN, November 18. Cool parliamentary reception of a Government pay-as-you-earn income tax scheme prompted the Danish Prime Minister, Mr Jens Krag, to call a snap General Election for next Tuesday, but the crisis is more complicated than that.

Some observers regard the Social Democrat Premier’s move as a brilliant piece of political strategy to escape from the frustration of the last two years of minority Government. He will either emerge with

his hand strengthened, or leave all his troubles to a possible Liberal Government. A compromise housing policy forced on him by his minority position has caused a split in the Social Democrat ranks. The trade situation is deteriorating, and both agriculture and industry are demanding action. Norway and Sweden have accused the Krag Government of wanting to break the European Free Trade Association agreement and take Scandinavia into the Common Market without regard for Britain. Negotiations between trade unions and employers have run into severe difficulties. Taxation was the last straw, but the Premier’s election call took the Folketing (Parliament)—even some Social Democrat members—by surprise.

Mr Krag, the son of a tobacconist, is regarded as a colourless personality who has consequently been a party man rather than a leader of the people. But he is a cool and astute politician. His party, the biggest in the country, has 77 members in the 179-seat House The Radicals have 10 seats, the Conservatives 36, the Liberal Venstre Party (mainly rural) 36, the People’s Socialist Party, led by an ex-Commun-ist, Mr Aksel Larsen, 10, the Independent (right wing) 5, and the Liberal Centre Party 2.

There are three non-party M.P.s—one from Greenland and two from the Faro Islands north of Scotland.

The Communists and the Retsforbundet (single - tax) Party have no seats in Parliament The Schleswig (German national minority) Party is boycotting the election as a protest against a new electoral law by which no party getting less than 2 per cent of the votes can have a seat. There are about 3,300,000 registered voters. Results will be known in the evening of polling day except for Greenland and the Faroes, which votes on December 6 and 13 respectively, but cannot seriously affect the outcome.