Citizens' Party

The Citizens' Party – Lars Boje Mathiesen (Danish: Borgernes Parti – Lars Boje Mathiesen, abbreviated BP) is a Danish political party led by Lars Boje Mathiesen, who holds one of its four seats in the Folketing as a member representing the party. Founded by Mathiesen following his time as an independent parliamentarian, the party positions itself on the right wing of Danish politics, with Mathiesen declaring himself the first "blue" (right-wing) candidate for prime minister.

The party advocates for returning power to citizens, criticizing excessive state control, bureaucracy, and high taxes as barriers to individual freedom. It emphasizes practical, common-sense solutions without political overreach, aligning with broader goals of preserving Danish culture and addressing issues like energy and immigration. As a new entrant contesting its first national election in 2026, Borgernes Parti has garnered attention in opinion polls, occasionally polling above the threshold for parliamentary representation despite starting below it.

Distinguishing itself among Denmark's parties, the group focuses on empowering voters through reduced government interference, with Mathiesen's leadership drawing from his prior political experience and expulsion from another right-wing party. The party's platform prioritizes citizen-centric reforms over traditional ideological divides, aiming to challenge established dynamics in the lead-up to snap elections amid geopolitical tensions.

History

Founding

The Citizens' Party, officially Borgernes Parti – Lars Boje Mathiesen and abbreviated as BP, was founded by Danish politician Lars Boje Mathiesen in 2024. The establishment stemmed from extensive dialogues with numerous Danes expressing frustration over the political system's inability to tackle pressing national issues.

Ballot access and early milestones

Following its founding, Borgernes Parti prioritized collecting the approximately 20,000 voter declarations required under Danish election law for new parties to gain national ballot access, or opstillingsberettigelse. By mid-December 2024, after four months of organizational efforts including public campaigns and recruitment drives led by founder Lars Boje Mathiesen, the party had secured 20,195 declarations, meeting the threshold for eligibility to contest Folketing elections.

This achievement enabled the party to participate in upcoming elections, marking its first major procedural milestone post-founding. An early representational success came through Mathiesen's existing independent seat in the Folketing, which he held since March 2023, thereby providing the party with immediate parliamentary presence as its sole occupant. These steps solidified the party's legal standing and visibility ahead of broader electoral engagement.

Ideology and platform

Governance reforms

The Citizens' Party advocates for expanding direct democracy by increasing the frequency of referendums, enabling citizens to directly influence major policy decisions and counterbalance parliamentary authority. To facilitate broader participation, the party proposes implementing secure digital voting systems for these referendums, reducing logistical barriers and costs associated with traditional in-person voting.

A core proposal is the creation of a constitutional court empowered with initiative rights to investigate and prosecute potential violations of the constitution by the government or ministers, thereby introducing independent judicial checks on executive power.

The party frames its opposition to supporting Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen as essential for upholding governance accountability, specifically citing the 2020 mink culling order—deemed a constitutional breach without immediate compensation—as justification for pursuing an impeachment trial against her. These reforms collectively aim to address democratic deficits by decentralizing power from political elites and enforcing stricter adherence to legal and constitutional norms.

Policy priorities

The Citizens' Party advocates reforms to public sector wage structures aimed at addressing inefficiencies by capping salary increases for top earners at inflation levels for several years, redirecting the savings to boost pay for lower-wage frontline workers such as care assistants and prison guards. This approach reflects a right-wing economic emphasis on fiscal discipline and resource reallocation from administrative overhead to essential services, while appealing populistically to working-class public employees by prioritizing their compensation over higher bureaucratic salaries.

In transportation policy, the party pushes motorist-friendly measures, including the abolition of the high car registration tax (registreringsafgiften), which it views as outdated and unfair amid declining revenues from electric vehicle incentives. Instead, it proposes replacing it with a weight-based tax (vægtafgift) to cover road maintenance costs more equitably, alongside scrapping green owner taxes and CO2 levies that disproportionately burden owners of older vehicles. These proposals embody a right-wing rationale of tax simplification and reduction to ease burdens on individual drivers, with populist resonance in opposing perceived elite-driven environmental impositions that raise everyday mobility costs.

Leadership and organization

Key figures

Lars Boje Mathiesen is the founder and chairman of the Citizens' Party, which is officially named after him, positioning him as the central figure in its establishment and direction.

As the party's namesake and leader, Mathiesen has been instrumental in defining its populist right-wing orientation and commitment to direct democracy initiatives.

Party structure

The Citizens' Party operates as a small, founder-led organization with Lars Boje Mathiesen serving as chairman, lacking an extensive formal hierarchy beyond core leadership. Regional coordination is handled by storkredsledere appointed for each of Denmark's ten large electoral constituencies (storkredse), such as Emil West for Københavns Storkreds and Per Djernæs for multiple Jutland regions, facilitating localized operations and candidate support.

Membership is structured around supporting members who pay an annual fee of 300 DKK via form submission and payment options like MobilePay, granting access to events, workshops, and contributions to policy debates and decision-making processes. This model emphasizes grassroots engagement post-ballot access, with members encouraged to influence political directions through active participation rather than top-down directives, aligning with the party's populist ethos of direct citizen involvement. No specialized internal bodies or rigid procedural rules are publicly detailed, underscoring its streamlined setup as a nascent entity focused on operational efficiency.

Representation

Parliamentary seat

The Citizens' Party holds four seats in the Folketing following its success in the general election on 24 March 2026, where it secured 2.1% of the votes corresponding to four mandates. The party's representation includes founder and leader Lars Boje Mathiesen, who retained his seat in Østjyllands Storkreds, along with three newly elected members. This builds upon Mathiesen's ongoing tenure in parliament, where he aligned with Borgernes Parti following its 2024 founding.

Mathiesen's role involves active participation in debates and proposals aligned with the party's platform, including opposition to the government led by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. In February 2026, he introduced and supported a no-confidence motion against Frederiksen, justifying it with accusations of lacking integrity, disrespect for legislative authority, and mishandling of deleted messages tied to the 2020 mink culling case; the motion failed to gain majority support but highlighted the party's refusal to back her leadership.

These seats provide Borgernes Parti with a stronger parliamentary foothold, enabling greater influence on proceedings related to governance reforms and policy priorities while consistently opposing measures supporting the incumbent administration, consistent with its populist right-wing stance.

Electoral participation

Following the granting of nationwide ballot access on 15 January 2025, after successfully collecting the required signatures, the Citizens' Party became eligible to contest seats in the Danish Folketing. The party participated in and won four seats in the snap general election held on 24 March 2026.

As a newly formed entity, the party contested its first national election, having fielded candidates after securing eligibility. No formal electoral alliances were announced, with the party's strategy emphasizing independent contestation aligned to its platform. The party successfully achieved parliamentary representation despite challenges in vote consolidation among right-wing factions.