Government-opposition dynamics in times of COVID19: the case of Denmark

The COVID19 pandemic has created a demanding challenge for governments worldwide. Not only incumbent parties confront new challenges, opposition parties as key actors in parliamentary democracies to hold governments accountable are faced with a dilemma: offering cooperation to the executive or adopting a controversial role. Hence, the present paper aims at determining how the COVID-19 crisis has transformed government-opposition dynamics in Denmark and if a rally 'round the flag effect has taken place. To do so, data on legislative action performed in the Danish parliament from October 2019 until December 2020 is analysed. The period is divided into three-time frames: pre-COVID-19 (October 2019 to February 2020); 1st COVID-19 wave (March 2020 to August 2020); and 2nd COVID-19 wave (October 2020 to December 2020). The results suggest that the consensus in the Danish parliament has thrived and that a rally 'round the flag effect has taken place in the first stages of the crisis and especially for the legislative action related to the COVID-19 crisis.