Danish Act of Succession referendum, 2009
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A referendum on changing the
Danish Act of Succession The Act of Succession of 27 March 1953 ( da, tronfølgeloven) was adopted after a 1953 referendum in Denmark and dictates the rules governing the succession to the Danish throne. The 1953 referendum changed the act so that it became possible for a ...
, the rules governing the succession to the Danish throne, was held in Denmark, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland on 7 June 2009, simultaneously with the election to the European Parliament, in Denmark proper. The law, which passed with 85.4% of the popular vote, eliminates male-preference primogeniture in favour of
absolute primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...
, resulting in sons losing precedence over daughters in the line of succession. The law did not affect anyone in the line of succession at the time of the referendum: the Queen's two children are both male, as is the Crown Prince's eldest child, born in 2005. However, had the referendum not been successful, Prince Vincent, who was born in 2011, would have been higher in the line of succession than Princess Isabella, born in 2007.


In parliament

Under the rules for change of constitution, the law must be passed by two Parliaments, before and after an election, and then approved by a referendum. The law was passed in 2006 with only one abstention (Simon Emil Ammitzbøll of the Social Liberal Party, who later formed his own party,
Borgerligt Centrum Borgerligt Centrum ''("Civil Centre")'' was a Danish political party founded on 6 January 2009, by MP Simon Emil Ammitzbøll Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given na ...
). The law was passed again by the new Folketing elected in 2007 on 24 February 2009 with two abstentions (of the left-wing Enhedslisten). It was then submitted to a referendum.2005-06 - L 1 (oversigt): Forslag til lov om ændring af tronfølgeloven. (Ligestilling mellem kønnene i arvefølgen - fremsat i henhold til proceduren i grundlovens § 88).
Folketinget . Retrieved on 25 November 2007.


Relation to constitution

No changes would be made to the constitution and §2 would continue to refer to the Act of Succession of 1953 even though that reference would become invalid. Jens Peter Christensen, then Professor of administrative law at the University of Aarhus and now a member of the
Danish Supreme Court The Supreme Court (, lit. ''Highest Court'', , ) is the supreme court and the third and final instance in all civil and criminal cases in the Kingdom of Denmark. It is based at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen which also houses the Danish Par ...
, has described this as "a mess" and as an "overly clever" way for then– Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen to signal that the government will oppose any other changes to the constitution. At the same time Christensen emphasizes that he has no doubt that the procedure is legal.


Prognosis for referendum

Changes to the act of succession in Denmark follow the same rules as changes to the constitution. First, it must be passed by parliament, then passed in unchanged form by the next parliament following parliamentary elections, and then be submitted to a public referendum. In order for the law to be approved in the referendum, it must get both a majority of votes cast in favour and at least 40% of all eligible voters voting in favour. Although an opinion poll from May 2005 showed a majority of 77% in favour of the change, it would not guarantee passage of the bill. In fact turnout at the preceding European Parliament elections in 2004 was so low (47.6%), that even a 77% margin in favour would not take the proposal past the 40% threshold. However, turnout increased and at midnight on the election night with most votes counted, the threshold had been passed and the law was certain to pass.


Campaign and positions

In late May, the government launched an official campaign, costing 5 million kroner. It was instantly criticised for being one-sided, undemocratic and patronising. The
Prime Minister's Department A cabinet department or prime minister's department is a department or other government agency that directly supports the work of the government's central executive office, usually the cabinet and/or prime minister, rather than specific ministe ...
admitted the official campaign video is an imitation of a sketch from the British comedy show '' Harry Enfield's Television Programme''. According to historian Steffen Heiberg in a Ritzau story on 1 June 2009, Queen
Margrethe II Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent femal ...
herself is "rather opposed" to the change.


Results

As the electorate was 4,042,185, and the minimum threshold of passing was 40 percent of the electorate, at least 1,616,874 people must have voted in favor of the change, while maintaining a majority in votes cast. 85.4% voted for the change, whilst 14.6% voted against change. The referendum had a 58.3% turnout. The number of blank and invalid votes was much higher in big cities, especially Copenhagen. If based on the local results from Copenhagen alone, the change would not have passed. Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen stated that the referendum "was important for gender equality" and "a strong signal that shows that we want to be a society where men and women have the same opportunities, whether it is for ordinary people or princes and princesses".


References

{{Greenlandic elections Act of Succession referendum Denmark 2009 Act of Succession Monarchy referendums June 2009 events in Europe June 2009 events in North America