APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110016-6
The credo of the Conservatives would seem almost attainable in the small homogenous societies of Northern Europe. Apprehensive of a state-imposed uniformity, they maintain "inequality" to be "something essential for man's common life, because inequality, combined with freedom, impels men toward constantly more excellent results." But "equally at the state" must be established, "...every child should have a chance to rise, depending solely on his diligence, ability, and character."
The Conservative Party maintains that the government must do all in its power to promote national security. It favors Scandinavian and international cooperation in the Nordic Council, the United Nations, and NATO. Even prior to World War II it rejected the argument that the salvation of Denmark, because of its size, lies in unarmed neutrality, and it has consistently argued for a strong national defense force. This party maintains that way may still be a necessity in an imperfect world, and Conservatives on the whole declined to participate in what one party leader termed the "tide of protest" against US policy in Vietnam.
Somewhat similar in structure to the Social Democratic and Liberal Parties, the Conservative Party also includes local units and constituency and provincial organizations. Like the Moderate Liberals, the Conservatives have three regional organizations. At the national level, however, the structure has unique characteristics. There are, in effect, two congresses, albeit with considerable overlapping. A representative assembly of some 300 to 500 delegates meets annually in the spring. Included in it are members of the party's national committee, the chairmen of the provincial organizations, plus one representative for every 5,000 Conservative votes case in the province in the last Folketing election, the chairmen of the constituency organizations, Conservative representatives and nominees for the Folketing, and representatives of the Conservative Party press, the youth organization, and the women's committee. In addition to electing the party chairman and other officials, the assembly reaches decisions on organizational matters, political issues, and finances. Then a national congress of some 900 to 1,100 delegates meets annually in October or November. In addition to the representative assembly membership who are ex officio delegates to the larger congress, it includes one delegate for every thousand Conservative votes from each constituency, and several more youth organization delegates. The national congress is the "highest authority in party affairs"; it officially adopts the party programs after consideration of proposals from various sources, notably from the Folketing groups.
The Conservative structure is similar to that of the Radical Liberals in that it too has two chairmen; one elected by the representative assembly, called the party chairman, and the chairman of the Folketing group, chosen by the Conservative parliamentary representatives from among their number. As in the Radical Party, it is the Conservative Folketing chairman who wields the most authority and is the true leader. The party chairman is more of a day-to-day administrator. Since the resignation of the dynamic Poul Moller as Folketing chairman in 1971, the party has lost some of its recent forward thrust and has slipped at the polls and in more recent public opinion ratings.
A national committee of 60 to 70 members meets 6 or more times a year to run party affairs between the convening of either congress. Its members are chosen by the provincial and regional party organizations, the Folketing group, the Conservative press, and the youth and women's organizations, which bodies it represents. The national committee may meet jointly with the Folketing group between congresses to discuss important political questions.
An administrative committee of seven members, composed of the party chairman, the chairmen of the three regional organizations, and three other members of the national committee, administers party affairs from day to day.
Like the Social Democrats and the Moderate Liberals, the Conservatives sponsor evening classes through the Popular Educational Association.
Because of its large and influential press, the Conservative party may still carry its message effectively. Although the party enjoyed only 15% voter support according to surveys in early 11973, the Conservative press circulation remains nearly one-third of the total and includes the largest (B.T. circulation 210,000) and second-largest (Berlingske Tidende, circulation 150,000) dailies. With the exception of the expanding B.T., there does appear to be an ebbing of the once preeminent influence of the quality Conservative newspapers.
e. Parties of the far left
The stronghold of the Social Democratic Party on the reformist sector of the Danish electorate has left the Marxist revolutionaries relatively little breathing room. Organized in 1919 from a wing of the SDP, the Communist Party of Denmark (DKP) made a respectable showing only in the 1945 election (18 seats), when it profited from its outstanding role in the wartime resistance. The advent of the Cold War, however, and the threatening posture of the Soviet Union in Europe disillusioned many of the party's
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110016-6
