ABSTRACT
Political scientists who have studied the development of the Danish political system and particularly the Danish party system have largely come to the conclusion that, up to the beginning of the 1970s, both were characterised by a remarkable degree of stability and consensus. 1 This view was of course rudely shaken by the remarkable result of the 1973 election (see Table 1). Until now, however, almost all investigations of the subject have dealt mainly with electoral aspects of the change: Why did so many voters suddenly switch parties, especially to the advantage of new parties? What were the social characteristics of those voters who supported the new parties? From which of the old parties did they come? What issues were most important for the voters? What effects had the volatility of the voters on the party system, and so on? 2
