Syrian-born Muslim may be kingmaker in Danish poll Sat Nov 10, 2007 2:34am EST By John Acher COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The popularity of a Syrian-born Muslim set to play kingmaker in next week's election may herald a shift in anti-foreigner sentiment in Denmark, which has some of Europe's toughest immigration curbs.
Naser Khader's New Alliance party, just six months old, has already cut a swathe in the centre of the political spectrum. Polls show it has enough support to play the decisive role after a battle between the governing centre-right coalition and the Social Democrat-led opposition that is too close to call. Khader, 44, was 11 years old in 1974 and reluctant to leave Syria when his father brought the family to Denmark in search of a better future. Now he says, "Denmark is my home country and my children's home country". "The more I go to the Middle East, the more Danish I become because I start to see things with Danish glasses, Danish eyes -- no democracy, no freedom of speech," said Khader, who was born of a Palestinian father and a Syrian mother. Khader and his party have drawn support from the left and right by vowing to combat the influence of the anti-immigrant Danish People's Party, improve treatment of asylum seekers and cap income tax levels in Denmark, which are among the highest in the world. The combination of social-liberal values and self-help economics that embrace globalization appeals to many well-educated Danes who find the Danish People's Party (DPP) a low-brow embarrassment. Secular Khader grabbed national attention when he led a moderate Muslim movement in 2006 urging calm after a Danish newspaper's publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad sparked violent protests by Islamists across the Middle East. While fighting Muslim extremism, Khader also battled the far-right DPP and has vowed to cut its leader Pia Kjaersgaard down to size. "Our goal is to reduce her power. She has had too much power the last six years. It is not healthy for Denmark and Danish society," he told a news conference this week. Kjaersgaard's DPP has supported the centre-right minority coalition government of Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, helping it to pass tougher immigration rules after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Khader jokes that the only thing he has in common with Kjaersgaard is concern for animal welfare. "She likes animals." OPTIMISTIC KINGMAKER The next election was not due until 2009, but Rasmussen last month called an early vote hoping to ride to a third term on a strong economy and unemployment at 33-year lows. Opinion polls show this is far from assured. Rasmussen's Liberal-Conservative bloc plus the allied DPP have a 2-3 percentage point lead over the Social Democrat-led opposition. That could leave the shape of a new coalition in Khader's hands. Support for his New Alliance has dwindled to 4-7 percent after initially shooting above 10 percent. It polled at 4.7 percent in a survey by the Catinet polling agency on Friday -- still enough to break into the national assembly. "Our ambition is to get into the parliament, to get important seats and to be the balance of power and to force the blocs to work together," Khader said. He said a significant number of voters had not yet chosen a party, which explained the swings in support, and said polls nonetheless showed his New Alliance winning seven to 12 seats in Denmark's 179-seat parliament. Khader has vowed to back a new centre-right coalition under Rasmussen and in exchange wants tax reform, aid to poor nations raised to 1 percent of GDP and better treatment for refugees. "He will give us these concessions," he predicted this week. Khader said his party did not need to be inside government to have influence. He noted Kjaersgaard and the DPP wielded huge sway outside cabinet, even more than the Conservatives within. "I prefer Pia Kjaersgaard's position," he said. If Rasmussen were to fail to give the New Alliance what it wants, Khader has not ruled out supporting a Social Democrat-led coalition, although he says the Liberal party leader is still his main choice for prime minister. (Reporting by John Acher, editing by Philippa Fletcher)
