Annette Vilhelmsen appears to be the clear favourite among Socialist People’s Party rank and file for the post of party leader, according to surveys from the Danish broadcasting corporation DR and Berlingske.

Vilhelmsen and Health Minister Astrid Krag are currently the only two contenders for the leadership of the party following the recent announcement by Villy Søvndal that he is stepping down.

The surveys, however, may have a relatively high margin of error as both polls have only received about half of the replies they had sought.

The DR survey spoke to 51 per cent of the Socialist People’s Party’s 108 local chairmen – with 51 per cent saying they prefer Vilhelmsen and 27 per cent rooting for Astrid Krag.

The Berlingske survey showed a similar result with 53 per cent for Vilhelmsen and 27 per cent for Krag. Twenty per cent were not sure which way they would vote.

Krag, 29, is generally seen as the leadership’s choice to continue Søvndal’s government objectives and policies.

Vilhelmsen, 52, is seen as the candidate favoured by many rank and file members who feel that the party has moved too far to the right in order to be in cabinet with the Social Democrats and Social Liberals.

The new leader of the party is to be chosen by membership ballot. The deadline for candidates who wish to contest for the leadership of the party is this Friday. If there are more than the current two candidates, an extraordinary congress will be held to narrow the field down to two, after which a membership ballot can be held.

FACEBOOK – Follow Politiken’s News in English