Former lawmaker launches new green conservative party

Former Danish People’s Party lawmaker Christian H. Hansen has launched Green Conservatives with four other founders, saying Denmark needs a centre-right party that puts climate policy at the forefront, DR reports.

Hansen said some centre-right voters felt politically homeless after the last election because they did not see the existing parties taking responsibility for the green transition. The party was officially launched at an event at Hotel Kirstine in Næstved.

Hansen served in the Folketing, Denmark’s parliament, for the Danish People’s Party from 1998 to 2010. He left the party partly because of disagreements over climate policy, then founded the Environment Party Fokus, which did not win seats in parliament.

Green Conservatives says its priorities include better animal welfare, more personal care in health services and elderly care, stronger psychiatric services, and more local food production in rural districts. Hansen said tax cuts would not always come first for the party.

The party has collected 11 voter declarations so far. It needs 20,387 declarations to stand for parliament.