By Ruth Marsden, Brussels
” I would like to congratulate Helle Thorning-Schmidt on her election victory and am pleased to hear that Denmark will have its first female prime minister” Jerzy Buzek
The Party of European Socialists (PES) has sent its “heartfelt congratulations” to former MEP Helle Thorning-Schmidt following her election as Denmark’s first female prime minister.
PES president and former Danish prime minister, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, who vigorously campaigned alongside Thorning-Schmidt said on Thursday, following the victory, “On a personal level I couldn’t be more delighted to see Helle make history tonight.”
Rasmussen said he viewed Thorning-Schmidt as a “shining beacon to progressives all across Europe”.
“The message tonight to all those who believe in fairness, justice and solidarity, is keep fighting, keep believing,” he added during the victory celebrations.
Thorning-Schmidt, the daughter-in-law of former EU commissioner Neil Kinnock put an end to the country’s centre-right’s 10-year-grip on government, ending the reign of incumbent premier Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
PES secretary general Philip Cordery expressed his congratulations, saying the victory was a “great boost to all members of the PES family”.
Addressing delighted Social Democratic Party members, Thorning-Schmidt said the road to power had been a long one.
“They have been hard times and we’ve struggled. Tonight we’ve shown that the Social Democrats are still a big force in holding up society.”
During her campaign, Thorning-Schmidt promised to turn the economy around, pledging to increase government spending and kick-start growth by investing in education and infrastructure to create jobs.
Immigration was also a key issue with the former MEP, who served a single term between 1999 and 2004, proposing to replace current restrictive rules with a more ‘humane’ policy.
Thorning-Schmidt’s four-party coalition secured 89 seats out of Denmark’s 179 seat parliament, giving her just a three seat majority.
Cécile Gréboval, secretary general of the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) told this website, “The fact that the election of Ms Thorning-Schmidt in Denmark will bring the number of women in the European council to two out of 27 (along with Angela Merkel of Germany) highlights the significance of this occasion.
“At the EWL, where we believe that the equal representation of women in decision-making is essential for any functioning democracy, we therefore welcome this decision of the Danish people.”
Gréboval added that although Thorning-Schmidt did not made equality between women and men a centrepiece of her campaign, “We trust that she and her new government will sponsor progressive policies sensitive to the needs of women, and promoting true equality between women and men at both national and EU level.”
European parliament president Jerzy Buzek also sent his best wishes, “I would like to congratulate Helle Thorning-Schmidt on her election victory and am pleased to hear that Denmark will have its first female prime minister.
“As a former colleague of this house, I hope she will become a constructive pro-European partner and look forward to working with her government.”
However, European Liberal Democrat and Reform party (ELDR) president, Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck, congratulated Løkke Rasmussen and his Venstre party saying they had stood their ground well.
Venstre actually increased their share of the vote to 26.7 per cent, securing their position as Denmark’s leading party despite losing overall to Thorning-Schmidt’s centre-left coalition.
Neyts-Uyttebroeck said of the outgoing premier, “As you gained votes, the Danish citizens have expressed their satisfaction with your policies and performance over the past years.”
