Danish prime ministers. Thorvald Stauning is a survivor!

[politicus]

Result of round 17

Last of the Liberals my great grand fathers old class mate from agricultural school, farmer and true son of the Fionian soil Erik Eriksen eliminated 3-0. A strong leader and inspiration for cartoonist Bo Bojesens much loved satire "Venstrevikingerne" (The Liberal Vikings) as chieftain Erik of Ringe (which was the name of the place he had his farm, but also means lousy in Danish ).
Sad to see you go Erik, but you were a short termer after all. Should have axed those red bastards a little harder in 1953

Round 18, normal round

Hilmar Baunsgaard

Short profile of the rest of them:

Lawyer Carl Theodor Zahle headed the government under WW1 and managed to walk the thin line between German demands and anti-German sentiments in the population and keep Denmark out of the war. Broke the laissez faire economic policy and introduced price regulations that irritated the business world and laid the foundations for big government in a previously very liberal country.
His government included four great personalities: minister of the interior, newspaper editor Ove Rode, historian and defense minister Peter Munch, diplomat Erik Scavenius and orientalist and theatrical critic Edvard Brandes as treasurer. The foursome is often called the four most intelligent men ever to sit in a Danish government and  the results of the government has been attributed to them rather than their boss. But any guy who can get four big egos to work together deserves respect IMO and Zahle is underappreciated by historians.

Tobacco worker Thorvald Stauning ruled Denmark with a steady hand for 15 years including the depression and the early phase of the German occupation. The bearded father of the nation with the deep booming voice won a landslide victory in 1935 under the legendary slogan ”Stauning or Chaos” (so glad Chaos didn't win )  and outmanouvred all his opponents, right and left, while laying the foundation for the welfare state. Can be criticised for disarming the country in the 30s, but given Denmark geography any attempt to defend the country against the Germans would have been futile anyway.

Highly efficient working class SD apparatchik H. C. Hansen got universal state pensions (”peoples pensions”) implemented, fought the commies in the labour movement and strengtened Danish relations with the US and the rest of NATO. On the negative side he lied to the voters about giving the US green light to station nuclear arms in Greenland and was kinda boring Was voted second best PM by a group of Danish historians in 2009. Guess that's true if you value strong leadership above everything else.

Brilliant economist Jens Otto Krag was one of the main architects of the second phase of building the universal welfare state and laid the ground work for Danish EEC (today EU) membership. Ladykiller and serial philanderer despite being married to a beautiful movie star. Had an artistic temperament and retired to pursue an (unsuccessful) career as an artist after winning the EEC membership referendum in 1972.

Lawyer Poul Schlüter managed to keep a string of minority coalition governments going through the 80s and early 90s and stabilize the horrible economy he had inherited after his SD predecessor. Made his Conservatives the largest centre-right party for the first time in a hundred years. Got the European Inner Market approved in a 1986 referendum, but lost the Maastricht-treaty referendum in 1992. Had to leave office after his minister of justice and mentor Erik Ninn-Hansen was convicted in constitutional court for illegally refusing Tamil refugees the right to get their families to Denmark. Schlüter was not a man of detail but a good communicator and mediator who managed to get his governments working as a team. Would have been remembered as a great PM if he had left office in 1990, but hung on to power for a little to long.

Economist and working class lad Poul Nyrup Rasmussen successfully kick started the economy, made important structural labour market reforms and presided over solid economic growth. Perceived as a poor communicator in Denmark and nicknamed "wool-in-mouth", but performed well on the European stage, where he was widely respected.  Moved his party to the right on immigration without succeeding in keeping xenophobic working class voters and lost election in 2001 after trying to style himself as a "father of the nation"-type and cash in on voters anxieties after 9/11.

[Nhoj]

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen

[JulioMadrid]

Hilmar Baunsgaard

[politicus]

Really should have voted here from the beginning, it's a fine survivor

You are welcome to join. Maybe you can help protect the remaining Conservative (Schluther) a little longer .

[big bad fab]

Why not, after all ?

Baunsgaard

[politicus]

Result of round 18

Western lover Hilmar Baunsgaard lost the shotout against Nyrup 3-1 and is eliminated.
With the short termers gone, Ill be a bit more subjective in my voting, otherwise it will be too boring.

Round 19, normal round

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen

A bit hackish, because both Zahle and Schlüter are probably weaker, but I don't want an all SD final and since Nhoj has been trying to throw Rasmussen out since we started, I am curious who will be his default choice if Nyrup is no longer around.

[Edu]

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen

Very informative posts, Politicus

[big bad fab]

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen

[JulioMadrid]

Poul Schlüter

[Nhoj]

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen

[politicus]

Result of round 19

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen 4
Poul Schlüter 1

Nyrup eliminated

Round 20, normal round

Ill be an even bigger hack than last time and choose H. C. Hansen, even if elderly working class SDs and countless Danish political historians would be appalled if they knew this . Strong leader in total control of his party, who would have ruled DK through the 60s if he hadn't died of a stroke in 1960, but a bit too cynical for my taste and only got 5 years as PM after all. Also I only want two SDs in the final, and Krag is far more interesting

Hansen is also the favorite PM of the Danish Peoples Party, who basically wants to return Denmark to the golden age of "H. C." prior to the "68" rebellion and those pesky immigrants. A time where order prevailed, people loved their country and everything was so much better.

[big bad fab]

Hansen

[Edu]

Hansen

[JulioMadrid]

Poul Schlüter

[Nhoj]

Hansen

[politicus]

Result of round 20:

Since all 5 regular voters have already voted and the result is so clear, Ill close this one early.

H. C. Hansen 4
Poul Schlüter 1

H. C. Hansen eliminated


Round 21, normal round

Poul Schlüter, on top of his game in the 80s, but had to resign in disgrace after all.

[Nhoj]

Poul Schlüter

[big bad fab]

Zahle

[Edu]

Poul Schlüter

[politicus]

Looks like Julio isn't voting today, but given his socialist values and earlier votes against Poul Schlüter, I am sure he wouldn't help our last right winger standing, so I'll close this round now.
(not that you can really call a guy that is remembered for saying "ideology is a load of rubbish" a right winger anyway... )

Schlüter 3
Zahle 1

Poul Schlüter eliminated


Round 22, semifinal

My vote: Carl Theodor Zahle

The trouble with a Danish PM survivor is that you can't really avoid an all SD final without being extremely hackish. The SD guys are just better with the possible exception of Estrup (who you guys eliminated for being dictatorial..) and I. C. Christensen who was superb parliamentarian and a strong leader, but chose to rule behind the scenes for the first 4 years of his de facto time in power (1901-08) and therefore is a short termer on paper, and then had to leave office after the biggest scandal in Danish political history.

So I am stuck with the choice between two left wingers to face "Father Stauning"

Zahle's government solved a number of very difficult problems (avoiding being dragged into the war, having to evolve a new and extended role for the state, a major land reform in 1919 - breaking the power of the aristocracy, an important judicial reform and securing reunification with Northern Sleswick in 1920 without caving in to nationalists who wanted ALL of Sleswick). His government was highly successful until right wingers persuaded the King to dismiss it in 1920 (provoking a major constitutional "Easter Crisis" and nearly making Denmark a republic).

But the trouble is, that those gains were mainly secured by others. Zahle was PM because the two strongest men in his party - Rode and Munch - wanted to avoid an all out leadership struggle between them, not because of his own strength. So all in all a successful PM, but not a great one - and no match for Stauning in the final.

Krag had an easier time, ruling in the 60s where the SD could campaign under the slogan "Make good times better". But he was a much stronger leader than Zahle, and represents SD on the height of their power, securing the full implementation of the universal welfare state model and brilliantly moving Denmark towards the EEC step by step before securing membership in an all important referendum. He was also a much more interesting and complex character than Zahle.

[Nhoj]

Jens Otto Krag

[big bad fab]

Zahle

[politicus]

I thought about keeping this round open a little longer, but given that Julio would never vote against a Socialist Zahle was going to be eliminated anyway. So I thought we might as well go directly to the final.
Edu voted in a couple of other survivors, but not this one, so he had the chance.

Result of semifinal:

Zahle 2
Krag 1

Zahle eliminated

The Finale. Battle of the red kings: Stauning vs. Krag

Have to go with Stauning.

[JulioMadrid]

No, politicus, I'm studying, and really hard...

But Jens Otto Krag for the win!!

[politicus]

No, politicus, I'm studying, and really hard...

But Jens Otto Krag for the win!!

Oh of course. Exams. Seems like a million years ago, even if it was only two Hope I shall never have to bother with them again. Best of luck!

But given that you prefer Krag, it looks like I was right you would have voted Zahle.