The Danish People's Party (DPP; , DF) is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Denmark. It was formed in 1995 by former members of the Progress Party (FrP). The party saw a period of significant growth after its founding and lent its support to the –Conservative People's Party coalition government that ruled from the 2001 Danish general election until the defeat in the 2011 Danish general election.
While not part of the cabinet, DF cooperated closely with the governing coalition on most issues and received support for key political stances in return, to the point that the government was commonly referred to as the "VKO-government" (O being DF's election symbol). It also provided parliamentary support to Lars Løkke Rasmussen's cabinets from 2016 to 2019, again without participating in it. In the 2014 European Parliament election in Denmark, DF secured 27% of the vote as part of the European Conservatives and Reformists group. This was followed by receiving 21% of the vote in the 2015 Danish general election, becoming the second largest party in Denmark for the first time.
From 2015 onward. the party saw a decline in support; it fell to third place and 10.8% of the vote in the 2019 European Parliament election, and to just 8.7% in the 2019 Danish general election, resulting in a loss of 21 seats and a return to opposition. The party later lost over half of its seats in the 2021 Danish local elections, losing 130 of the 221 it held before the election, achieving just 4.1% of the vote. Some commentators attributed the losses to internal conditions within the party and conflicts with the leadership, its perceived indecisiveness in government and rival parties adopting many of its policy ideas. The DF also suffered a number of defections during 2022 following the rise of the Denmark Democrats party, which many former DF members and supporters joined.
At the 2022 Danish general election. the party received its worst result ever, winning only five seats. , due to defections from Nye Borgerlige, DF had seven of the seats in the Danish Folketing. The party made significant gains at the 2026 Danish general election, with 9.1% of the vote and 16 seats.
History The party's popularity has grown since its inception, taking 25 seats in the 179-member Folketing in the 2007 parliamentary election (13.8% of the vote, remaining the third largest party in Denmark). In the 2011 parliamentary election, while maintaining its position as the third largest party, DF received 12.3% of the vote, marking its first electoral decline.
Kjærsgaard leadership (1995–2012)
Early years (1995–2001)
The Danish People's Party was founded on 6 October 1995, after Pia Kjærsgaard and Kristian Thulesen Dahl broke away from the Progress Party. Its first national convention was held in Vissenbjerg on 1 June 1996, where Kjærsgaard was unanimously elected as the party's chairman. The party was established in protest over the "anarchistic conditions" of the Progress Party, and its "all or nothing" policies. It was initially seen by many as a "clone" of the Progress Party, but this soon proved false. In a struggle to be respected as a responsible party able to cooperate with others and distance it from the conditions in the Progress Party, the leadership of the party struck down criticism from its members by means of expulsions. The party saw a highly centralized party leadership as necessary, as it would not tolerate internal conflicts and disagreements with the official strategy.Meret, 2009, p. 99.
The party was the first successful parliamentary party in the Nordic countries to relate philosophically more closely to the French Nouvelle Droite, than to the previous Nordic form of right-wing populism. DF represented a synthesis of several political currents: the Lutheran movement Tidehverv and its related journal, an intellectual nationalist right from the Danish Association (Den Danske Forening) and conservative populists from the Progress Party.Hervik, Peter. 2011. The Annoying Difference: The Emergence of Danish Neonationalism, Neoracism, and Populism in the Post-1989 World. Berghahn Books. p. 25.
In 1997, the party won about 7% in the municipal elections, and did very well in traditional left-wing municipalities, potentially rivaling the Social Democrats.Meret, 2009, p. 98. By 1998, the party had 2,500 registered members. The party made its electoral debut in the 1998 Danish parliamentary election, winning 13 seats and 7.4% of the vote. The party was, however, left with no influence in the formation of a government; it was shut out in large part due to the perception that it was not stuerent (i.e. not acceptable or "housebroken").
Venstre-Conservative coalitions (2001–2011)
In the 2001 election, the party won 12% of the vote and 22 seats in parliament. It became the third largest party in the parliament, giving them a key position, as they would have a parliamentary majority together with the Conservative People's Party and . DF was favoured by these parties, as it had supported the candidate for Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, during the election campaign. Eventually, it gave its parliamentary support for a -Conservative coalition government, headed by Prime Minister Rasmussen, in exchange for the implementation of some of their key demands, first and foremost stricter policies on immigration. The party had a key role in writing the rules and conditions for immigration in the immigration law that was established by the government in May 2002,Meret, 2009, p. 100. which it called "Europe's strictest".
In the 2005 election, the party further increased their vote, and won 13.2% of the vote and 24 seats. With young first-time voters the party was even more popular, receiving one fifth of their votes. The party continued to support the government, and developed a broader policy base, as it made welfare policies its core issue, together with immigration policies. In 2006, the party's popularity rose dramatically in opinion polls following the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy, at the expense of the Social Democrats. The average of all monthly national polls showed DF gaining seven seats in parliament from January to February, with the Social Democrats losing an equal number. This effect, however, somewhat waned with the falling media attention to the cartoons controversy.
In the 2007 parliamentary election, DF won 13.9% and 25 seats, and again continued to support the Conservative-Liberal government. Thus, in every election since its founding the party has had a steady growth, although the growth rate has stagnated somewhat in recent years. Parties in the political centre, particularly the newly founded New Alliance had sought to become the kingmaker and be able to isolate the immigration policies of DF, but eventually failed. The party was a member of the Movement for a Europe of Liberties and Democracy (MELD). In the 2009 elections for the European Parliament, the prime candidate for the party, Morten Messerschmidt, won his seat in a landslide with 284,500 personal votes (most votes for any single candidate by any party); this gave the party a second seat (which went to Anna Rosbach Andersen). The party made a breakthrough from its previous results in European elections, more than doubling its vote to 15.3%, and receiving 2 MEPs. On 15 September 2012, Kristian Thuesen Dahl succeeded Kjærsgaard as chairman.
Thulesen Dahl leadership (2012–2022) During the 2015 election, the DF won 21.08% of the national vote under the leadership of Kristian Thulesen Dahl, the highest since its founding and gained 37 seats putting the party in second place. In the aftermath, the party entered negotiations with to again provide parliamentary support in return for stricter policies on immigration and the EU. A minority government headed by Lars Løkke Rasmussen was subsequently formed with the DF, the Liberal Alliance and the Conservative People's Party providing support.
The party suffered a major defeat in the 2019 election, recording its worst result since 1998. It won just 8.7% of the vote and 16 seats, a net loss of 21 seats since 2015; it fell to third place, just narrowly outpolling the Social Liberals. Some journalists and political commentators opined that the DF's loss in support was as a result of the party's refusal and indecisiveness on taking direct part in government and the main parties including the Social Democrats adopting many of the DF's policies on immigration and integration. In January 2022, Dahl stood down as leader and was replaced by Morten Messerschmidt in a leadership election where he won 499 out of the 828 delegators' votes against two other candidates. After Messerschmidt, a total of 11 out of 16 MPs had in June left the party including Thuelsen Dahl who was the only one of them who passed on his seat to the next in line.
Messerschmidt leadership (2022–present)
At the 2022 election, the party suffered its worst election result ever with 2.6% of the vote, equal to 5 seats. In December 2022, Morten Messerschmidt was acquitted of all charges related to prior allegations of misuse of EU funds according to several political analysts and commentators, paving the way for a restoration of the party. During January and February 2023, Mikkel Bjørn and Mette Thiesen, who were both elected for Nye Borgerlige, joined the Danish People's Party, increasing its seat count to seven. As of October 2025 the Danish People's Party has seen its support increased to around 9% in the polls. After participating in a public debate on 10 November 2025 against Danish Social Liberal Party's leader Martin Lidegaard in the city of Randers ahead of the 2025 municipal election, Messerschmidt attempted to sue his opponent in court for libel after an interview with Messerschmidt in Weekendavisen was brought up in the debate.
At the 2026 election, the party made significant gains, with 9.1% of the vote and 16 seats.
Ideology and policies
DF is nationalist, as well as a right-wing populist party, and is positioned on the right, or far-right, of the political spectrum. DF's stated goals are to protect the freedom and cultural heritage of the Danish people, including the family, the monarchy and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark, to enforce a strict rule of law, to work against Denmark becoming a multi-cultural society by limiting immigration and promoting cultural assimilation of admitted immigrants, to maintain a strong welfare system for those in need, to promote entrepreneurship and economic growth by strengthening education and encouraging people to work, to protect the environment and natural resources, and to protect Danish sovereignty against the European Union. In comparison to its predecessor, the Progress Party, the DF focuses more on immigration, while at the same time being more pragmatic on other topics.Christoffer Green-Pedersen, Pontus Odmalm (2013). "Going different ways? Right-wing parties and the immigrant issue in Denmark and Sweden". In Tim Bale. Immigration and Integration Policy in Europe: Why Politics – and the Centre-Right – Matter. Routledge. p. 59. While overall considered part of the radical right, its policies on most economic issues would rather place the party in the centre to centre-left.Liubomir K. Topaloff (2012). Political Parties and Euroscepticism. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 178. The party's former leader, Kristian Thulesen Dahl, once declared DF an anti-Muslim party.
Immigration