1988 Danish general election

General elections were held in Denmark on 10 May 1988,^[1] just seven months after the last elections. Prime Minister Poul Schlüter chose to call for an election after the Conservative People's Party-led government fell short of a majority in a foreign policy issue after they failed to come to an agreement with the Social Democrats. In a parliamentary debate, Prime Minister Poul Schlüter accused Svend Auken (the leader of the Social Democrats) of breaking a political deal between the two of them whilst Auken accused Schlüter of lying to the public.

1988 Danish general election

← 1987 10 May 1988 1990 →
All 179 seats in the Folketing 90 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	85.70%
Party Leader % Seats +/– Social Democrats Svend Auken 29.82 55 +1 Conservatives Poul Schlüter 19.29 35 −3 SF Gert Petersen 13.01 24 −3 Venstre Uffe Ellemann-Jensen 11.84 22 +3 Progress Pia Kjærsgaard 8.96 16 +7 Social Liberals Niels Helveg Petersen 5.58 10 −1 Centre Democrats Erhard Jakobsen 4.67 9 0 KrF Flemming Kofod-Svendsen 2.04 4 0 Elected in the Faroe Islands People's Jógvan Sundstein 24.68 1 0 Union Pauli Ellefsen 24.43 1 +1 Elected in Greenland Siumut Jonathan Motzfeldt 40.07 1 0 Atassut Otto Steenholdt 38.74 1 0 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Most voted-for party by nomination district and constituency Most voted-for party by municipality Distribution of constituency and levelling seats Prime Minister before Prime Minister-elect Poul Schlüter Conservatives Poul Schlüter Conservatives

However, the election did not change the balance of power in the Folketing. Common Course failed to cross the 2% percent threshold and lost their four seats. The Centre Democrats and the Christian People's Party left the government (although they continued to support it) and were replaced by the Danish Social Liberal Party. The reason for doing this was that it gave Schlüter a majority in foreign policy issues which had caused this election. Nonetheless, the Centre Democrats and the Christian People's Party continued to support the government.

Voter turnout was 86% in Denmark proper, 70% in the Faroe Islands and 58% in Greenland.^[2]