Green Left (Denmark)

The Green Left, since March 2022 the English name for Socialistisk Folkeparti (Danish: [soɕaˈlisdisk ˈfʌlkʰəˌpʰɑˀtsi], lit. ' Socialist People's Party', abbr. SF), is a democratic socialist political party in Denmark.

SF was founded on 15 February 1959 by Aksel Larsen, a former leader of the Communist Party of Denmark (DKP), who was removed for criticizing the Soviet intervention in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Larsen aimed to create a third way between Denmark's U.S. oriented social democracy and Soviet-oriented communism, combining democracy with socialism. SF entered the Folketing in the 1960 Danish general election, while the DKP lost its seats. SF became involved in peace, anti-nuclear, and grassroots movements, advocating for independence from the Soviet Union.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, SF experienced fluctuating electoral success, gaining significant influence in the peace and environmental movements. During Gert Petersen's period as leader from 1974 to 1991, SF broadened its appeal, focusing on environmental and gender politics. The party's opposition to Denmark's entry into the European Economic Community in the 1972 referendum boosted its membership and support. In the 1980s, SF reached its peak electoral success, with 27 seats in the Folketing, but faced internal conflicts over EU policies, resulting in fluctuating support.

In the 1990s and 2000s, SF continued to play an influential role in Danish politics, supporting the Poul Nyrup Rasmussen government from 1993 to 2001. Led by Holger Nielsen, SF opposed the 1992 Danish Maastricht Treaty referendum, but supported the Edinburgh Agreement. The party saw mixed electoral results, gaining seats in some elections and losing in others. Villy Søvndal became party chair in 2005, shifting SF further left and emphasizing professionalism, focus-groups, and media strategies. In the 2007 election, SF doubled its seats, becoming the fourth-largest party.

SF joined the coalition government led by Helle Thorning-Schmidt in 2011, marking its first participation in a cabinet. However, internal conflicts and controversies led to SF leaving the coalition in 2014. SF under Pia Olsen Dyhr (leader from 2014) supported the Mette Frederiksen-led Social Democrat minority government after the 2019 election. Despite the "red bloc" winning a narrow majority in the 2022 election, SF became the largest opposition party when Frederiksen formed a centrist government with the Liberal Party and the Moderates.

The SF was founded on 15 February 1959 by Aksel Larsen, a former leader of the Communist Party of Denmark (DKP). Larsen was removed from the ranks of the DKP for his criticism over the Soviet intervention in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Larsen and the new SF sought to form a third way between Denmark's United States-oriented social democracy and Soviet Union–oriented communism, which sought to combine democracy with socialism. He was joined by a large share of the members of the DKP. They all supported the idea of independence from the Soviet Union.

In the 1960 elections, the party entered the Folketing with eleven seats. The DKP lost all six of its seats. In the 1964 elections, the party lost one seat. During the 1960s, the SF became involved in the peace movement and the movements which opposed nuclear weapons and nuclear power. It sought to "walk on two legs", by combining its parliamentary work with involvement in grass roots movements.

In the 1966 elections, the Social Democrats and the SF won a combined majority in parliament, in which the SF doubled its number of seats from 10 to 20. A Social Democrat minority government was formed, which was supported by the SF. The cooperation lasted only one year, but led to considerable conflict within the SF: in 1967, the Left Socialists (VS) broke away from the SF. In the subsequent 1968 elections, the SF lost nine seats and the VS entered parliament with four. In 1969, the party chairperson Larsen stood down; he was replaced by Sigurd Ømann.