Folketing elections were held in Denmark on 23 March 1943 alongside Landsting elections,[1] except in the Faroe Islands where they were held on 3 May. They were the first and only parliamentary elections held during the German occupation, and although many people feared how the Germans might react, they took place peacefully.[2]
Nazi Germany permitted the election to proceed and had consistently maintained that Denmark was still an independent country. They had also reportedly provided substantial financial support for the Danish National Socialist Workers' Party. The five democratic parties (Social Democrats, Conservatives, Venstre, Social Liberal and the Justice Party) urged voters to support any of them. The Communist Party had been banned since 1941 and could not participate in the elections.[3]
95% of the vote went to the four largest traditional democratic parties and the Social Democratic Party remained the largest in the Folketing, winning 66 of the 149 seats. Voter turnout was 89% in mainland Denmark, the highest of any Danish parliamentary election, and became a demonstration against the occupation. Leading German newspapers expressed disappointment and indignation with the lack of political evolution among the Danish voters.[2] In Denmark there has been some debate about whether this can be seen as democratic support for the government's "cooperation" policy (samarbejdspolitikken) with the German occupation authorities.[4] Some have argued that the result showed a broad unity of opinion in the population and among politicians in support of the relatively cooperative line taken by the government. Bertel Haarder, citing Knud Kristensen, has argued that the vote was sold as one of solidarity with the Danish constitution, democracy, and a rejection of totalitarian elements in society, and cannot therefore be seen as an explicit endorsement by the population of the government's line.[4] Political scientist Ben Arneson stated "the result of the elections clearly indicates that democracy, parliamentarism, and strong anti-Nazi attitudes retain well-nigh universal support of the Danish electorate."[3]
^The Faroes seat was won by Þ Petersen, an independent who was a member of the People's Party. However, his election victory was not recognised until 16 August 1945,[5] only two and a half months before the elections that year.
