View source for Free Conservatives

{{Conservatism in Denmark}}
[[File:Mogens Frijs (J. Petersen).jpg|thumb|upright|Party leader and MP [[Mogens Frijs]]. {{Credit|Jens Petersen/Det Kongelige Bibliotek}}]]
{{short description|Defunct Danish political party}}
The '''Free Conservatives''' ({{langx|da|De Frikonservative}}) was a [[political party]] in [[Denmark]], with significant influence in the political life of the country in the early 20th century, especially during the [[J. C. Christensen]] cabinet.<ref>[https://runeberg.org/nfco/0555.html 1065-1066 (Nordisk familjebok / Uggleupplagan. 35. Supplement. Cambrai - Glis)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The main leader of the party was Count [[Mogens Frijs-Frijsenborg]]. Other prominent figures were [[Tage Reedtz-Thott]], [[Hans Nicolai Hansen]] and [[Christian Michael Rottbøll]]. The party opposed [[socialism]] but it founders could not reconcile with the political line of the main conservative party ''[[Højre]]'' under the leadership of [[Jacob Estrup]]. The Free Conservatives worked for unity between [[Folketinget]] and [[Landstinget]].<ref name="handbog">Engelstoft, Povl/Wendt, Frantz Wilhelm. ''Haandbog i Danmarks politiske Historie fra Freden i Kiel til vore Dage''. Gyldendal. 1934.</ref>

==Founding==
The founders of the Free Conservatives, originally eight Landsting members from ''Højre'', had tried to forge unity between the moderate sectors of ''Højre'' and ''[[Venstre (Denmark)|Venstre]]'' around a new tax reform. The plans of a new unified party failed, and 'the eight' came to function as a separate faction. The tax reform proposal, which 'the eight' and ''Venstre'' had agreed upon, was adopted by Folketinget in 1900. However, in Landstinget ''Højre'' launched a counterproposal. As a result, 'the eight' broke away from ''Højre'' and formed a separate party with nine Landsting members. Informally, the name of the new party was 'the Free Conservatives'. The name was formally adopted by the party in 1902.<ref name="handbog"/>

==Relations with ''Venstre''==
Between 1901 and 1912, the Free Conservatives had considerable influence over the policies of the Venstre governments. The party was able to bar [[universal suffrage]] to be introduced in the ''[[Amt (administrative division)|amt]]'' council elections. The party was also participant in the fall of [[Peter Adler Alberti]] in 1908. However, in 1912 ''Venstre'' presented a proposal for a democratic constitution for Denmark. This caused a split between ''Venstre'' and the Free Conservatives. After the new constitution was introduced in 1915, the Free Conservatives reunified with ''Højre'', forming the [[Conservative People's Party (Denmark)|Conservative People's Party]].<ref name="handbog"/> Internal disagreements in the Conservative People's Party resulted in the Free Conservatives being restored in 1917 but they lost their last seat in Landstinget in 1920.

=== Landstinget ===

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"
|-
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/-
! Government
|-
! [[1902 Danish Landsting election|1902]]
| ?
| ? (#?)
| {{composition bar|10|66|{{party color|Free Conservatives}}}}
| {{increase}} 7
| {{yes2|Coalition}}
|-
! [[1906 Danish Landsting election|1906]]
| ?
| ? (#?)
| {{composition bar|10|66|{{party color|Free Conservatives}}}}
| {{steady}} +
| {{yes2|Coalition}}
|-
! [[1910 Danish Landsting election|1910]]
| ?
| ? (#?)
| {{composition bar|5|66|{{party color|Free Conservatives}}}}
| {{decrease}} 5
| {{yes2|Coalition}}
|-
! [[1914 Danish Landsting election|1914]]
| ?
| ? (#?)
| {{composition bar|5|66|{{party color|Free Conservatives}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
| {{yes2|Coalition}}
|-
! [[1915 Danish Landsting election|1915]]
| ?
| ? (#?)
| {{composition bar|5|66|{{party color|Free Conservatives}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
| {{yes2|Coalition}}
|}


==References==
{{reflist}}{{Danish political parties}}
[[Category:Political parties established in 1900]]
[[Category:Organizations disestablished in 1915]]
[[Category:1915 disestablishments in Denmark]]
[[Category:Defunct political parties in Denmark]]
[[Category:Liberal conservative parties]]
[[Category:Conservative parties in Denmark]]
[[Category:1900 establishments in Denmark]]