After years in the political wilderness, the last 12 months has seen centre-left political parties win elections in Denmark, Sweden and Finland through a combination of attention-grabbing policies and shrewd political strategy.

The Nordic democracies have long been a source of public policy inspiration for social democrats in Australia. But as the Australian Labor Party picks up the pieces after its shock election loss in May, it should study both the policies and politics of the centre-left parties in the land of the Vikings.

Copenhagen, home to the Danish Social Democrats. Credit:iStockphoto

I had the opportunity to meet with General Secretary of the Danish Social Democrats Jan Juul Christensen in Copenhagen this month, who outlined how his party charted its return to power at the June election. As the architects of Denmark’s cherished 'cradle to grave' social welfare system, the Social Democrats wanted the election to be fought on their policy strength. "We wanted to make this a welfare election, to overturn the years of austerity and make the welfare of the Danish people the top priority again," Christensen said.

To do this the Social Democrats first needed to neutralise the immigration debate that had caused their working-class voter base to desert them for a conservative anti-immigration party not dissimilar to Australia’s One Nation party.