Progress Party (Denmark)
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Progress Party
Fremskridtspartiet |
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| Leader | Niels Højland |
| Founded | 22 August 1972 |
| Headquarters | Liljeallé 11 6920 Videbæk |
| Ideology |
Right-wing populism Anti-tax Anti-immigration |
| Political position | Right-wing |
| European affiliation | None* |
| International affiliation | None |
| Colours | Yellow |
| Website | |
| www.frp.dk | |
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*Member of European Progressive Democrats in European Parliament (1979-1984) |
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The Progress Party (Danish: Fremskridtspartiet) is a political party in Denmark, which was founded in 1972. Its founder, the former lawyer Mogens Glistrup, gained huge popularity in Denmark after he appeared on Danish television, stating that he paid 0% in income tax. The party was placed on the right of the political spectrum, as it believed in radical tax cuts (including removing the income tax altogether) and vowed to cut government spending. An example is the suggestion to replace the entire department of defence with an answering machine with the recorded message "we surrender" in Russian. In the late 1970s, its agenda was "the gradual abolition of income tax, the disbandment of most of the civil service, the abolition of the diplomatic service and the scrapping of 90% of all legislation." From the 1980s the party also adopted anti-immigration as a key issue.
The party entered the Danish parliament after the 1973 "landslide election", and immediately became the second largest party in Denmark. After this the party gradually decreased in voter support, and when some of its leading members broke out and established the Danish People's Party in 1995, the party soon fell out of parliament altogether. Meanwhile, its former sister party, the Norwegian Progress Party remained united and became even more successful.
The Progress Party was founded by tax lawyer Mogens Glistrup in 1972 as a tax protest. The party's initial issues were less bureaucracy, abolishment of the income tax and simpler law paragraphs. The party entered the Danish Parliament after the 1973 electoral "earthquake". It won 15.9% of the vote and 28 seats, making it the second-largest party in parliament. It did however not form a part of the ruling coalition because the other parties refused to cooperate with it.
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