In a country that spent most of the last century under Social Democratic–led administrations, Denmark’s local elections on November 16 brought major setbacks for the ruling party — and significant advances for the radical left. This was most visible in the capital, Copenhagen, where prime minister Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democrats failed to top the polls for the first time in over a century, as its vote fell by 10 percent. The party’s candidate Sophie Hæstorp Andersen only retained the Social Democrats’ grip on the mayor’s office thanks to the aid of smaller neoliberal parties.

The single most popular force was the Red-Green Alliance, whose campaign focused on the landlord-friendly redevelopment policies that have made the capital unaffordable for many workers while also causing harm to the natural environment. At the center of the Red-Green Alliance was its mayoral candidate Line Barfod, a former MP. She spoke to Jacobin’s David Broder about how property developers have taken over Copenhagen, her party’s recent election campaign, and its wider meaning for Danish politics.