Local list wins through: Will it be the seventh lucky one for Finn Jensen?

Local lists make gains: Will it be Finn Jensen's lucky seventh time in Solrød Council?

At the latest municipal election, local lists saw significant growth. In Solrød Municipality, Denmark's oldest local list is trying again to win seats in the council chamber.

64-year-old Finn Jensen is running again for Denmark's oldest local list, HavdrupListen. (Photo: © Private) 17 minutes ago

As something special for the municipal election, many of us have the opportunity to vote for entirely local lists as an alternative to the traditional parties.

These can be local lists that focus on highly specific local issues, or local lists that aim to secure power and influence for certain towns or areas.

For the 2021 municipal election, local lists signed up for a total of 91 seats in councils across the country.

This was an increase of nearly 50 percent compared to the 2017 election, where local lists won 63 seats.

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Seven successful local lists

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Tønder Listen, 9 seats for KV21

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Guldborgsundlisten, 7 seats for KV21

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Tønder listen, 4 seats for KV21

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The Social Fellows List Rebild, 4 seats for KV21

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Ny Egedal, 4 seats for KV21

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Bornholmerlisten, 2 seats for KV21

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Skive-listen, 2 seats for KV21

And one of them, who hopes to be elected for a local list, is Finn Jensen.

Back in 2001, Finn Jensen tried for the first time to get a seat on the council in Solrød Municipality for the local list HavdrupListen. At the time, it didn't work. It didn't work either in attempts number two, three, four, five, and six.

This year, he is trying for the seventh time.

- It's just in my DNA. Nothing happens in a town like ours if nobody does something, says Finn Jensen.

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We can make things happen faster

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The 64-year-old candidate lives himself in Havdrup, near both children and grandchildren, and his clear cause is to fight for the interests of the small town.

- If you want to change some things, it's political. In such a town as this, everything political starts. You don't have a sports hall if a council hasn't approved it.

HavdrupListen has been around for many years, and is in fact Denmark's oldest local list. It was founded in 1954. In this election period, the list has two seats in the council in Solrød Municipality.

- We have little power, but we can be part of making things happen faster. And maybe also set some things in motion that otherwise wouldn't have happened, says Finn Jensen.

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Three types of local lists

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Lists that run to gain strength to work on problems in the municipality, either more generally or more specifically. These lists can often not be placed on the traditional left-right scale.

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Lists that resemble more or less successful stunts for individual candidates. These lists usually get only very few votes and usually have only one candidate on the list.

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Lists that focus on single issues and for example go heavily into the closure of a school, the legalization of cannabis, or traffic in the municipality.

Source: Ulrik Kjær, municipal researcher and professor at Syddansk University.

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Doubts about own chances

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According to Finn Jensen from HavdrupListen, it is important to focus on the entirely local interests and agendas when a new council is to be formed in Solrød Municipality.

- I should not make decisions about the big things from Christiansborg. We have one goal, and that is to fight for Havdrup. We should shout out for Havdrup and remember Havdrup. That's just what happens when we live in such a town as we do.

And will the seventh time be lucky for the 64-year-old candidate? He actually doubts it himself.

- I don't think I will be elected. Far from it. I am also at the bottom of the list. But we hope to get two, maybe three seats elected, says Finn Jensen.

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