Who's who in the Danish referendum

The Danish prime minister on the campaign trail

By the BBC's Tamsin Smith

Saying 'Ja'

The well funded Yes camp which scooped two million pounds of public funding to fight the campaign was spearheaded by Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and his Social Democrat party machine.

Eighty percent of mainstream Danish politicians, industry and businessmen, many trade union leaders and nearly all the national media gave the thumbs up to the euro.

• Social Democrats

  
  

  Prime Minister Rasmussen leads the "yes" campaign
  

  On the campaign trail which has targeted the tiniest villages and the remotest farms, Social Democrat Prime Minister Rasmussen was spotted handing out slices of a enormous chocolate cake decorated with the words "Denmark shall have a piece of the cake! Vote YES on September 28".

  No doubt he found it tasted sour. From the outset Rasmussen laid the economic arguments on thickly.

  He praised the merits of a single exchange-rate within Denmark's main trading area, and stressed that sound fiscal policy guidelines applying to all euro countries are common sense and that nobody in the EU would ever dream of interfering with Danish public spending.

  In retrospect however he would have been wiser to tackle the political arguments first. Now the Danes have rejected the euro, Rasmussen is likely to become scapegoat number one, but he should at least be able to count on party support.

• Radical liberal party

  The little sister party of the ruling government coalition. Deputy Premier and Economy minister Marianne Jelved remains one of the main standard bearers of the euro and maintains that it will guarantee economic stability in Europe.

• Liberal Party

  The moderately right wing and free market liberals win the prize for the most pro-EU party in the Danish Parliament. There is support for the euro for both practical and economic reasons. Anders Fogh Rasmussen is the main man and although he bears no relation to the prime minister, he is an obvious candidate should the centre-right win the next election.

• Conservative Party

  There are some doubts here over moves towards greater political integration in Europe, but this small right-wing opposition party took a pragmatic view of euro membership for economic benefits.

• Centre Democrats

  Definitely pro-EU, argued that Danish membership of the Euro would have led to enhanced relations with Europe as well as economic advantages

Saying 'Nej'

The relatively impoverished No campaign was a rag-tag alliance embracing fringe parties on Left and Right as well as large cross-party organisations and some maverick MPs from mainstream politics.

It attracted support from public sector workers like nurses and teachers as well as pensioners, young people and women. The main theme of the 'no' campaign was that a monetary union cannot survive unless bolstered by solid political integration.

• June Movement

  
  

  Drude Dahlerup of the June Movement says media has been biased
  

  Campaigners wore nurses outfits and offered "anti-euro vaccinations" (chewing gum tablets) to shoppers in Copenhagen. The colourful leader of this leading anti-EU grassroots movement which boasts 3 of Denmark's 16 European parliament members is MEP Jens- Peter Bonde. The euro is seen as mission impossible but there is general acceptance of Danish membership of the EU. In fact the June Movement claims their message is the best way to advance EU enlargement by making it more acceptable to be in the EU but not the euro.

• People's Movement against the EU

  Banners and booklets proclaimed that the euro zone accounts for only 5% of the global population, and urged Danes to reject the single currency, which the movement sees as building new barriers between rich nations and 95% of the world's people.

  This is the other main anti-EU grassroots movement along with the June movement and has one seat in the European Parliament. It argued that joining the single currency would have represented a move towards European political unification, harmonisation of taxation, labour market and social policies. It feared the impact of the Euro on Denmark's 'Rolls Royce' social welfare system.

• Danish People's Party

  With an arsenal of ultra nationalist, anti-immigrant and populist ammunition, the Danish People's Party made sovereignty the central issue of the campaign even arguing that the euro represented a threat to the Danish monarchy. Led by controversial housewife Pia Kjaersgaard, the party tentacles grasped 12 % in the opinion polls. The populist message was fully able to exploit the sanctions on Austria as an example of the EU meddling in the affairs of a smaller country.

• Socialist People's Party

  Leader Holger K. Nielsen was the main architect of Denmark's opt-out clauses to the Maastricht Treaty in 1993 and has been a leading anti-euro campaigner ever since, and a critic of the way the whole euro issue has split the leading politicians and the people.

• Unity List

  Ultra-left group composed of reds, greens, former communists and activists. Opposed to euro membership because EU is seen as a puppet with big business pulling the strings. Thinks the EU should be more about the citizens, democracy and environment.

• Christian People's Party

  Tiny centrist group which is deeply divided over the issue of euro membership and advocates a "wait and see" stance. It worried that joining the euro would greatly affect national freedom of action on monetary policy and erode democracy.

• Freedom 2000

  Small rightist group vehemently opposed to euro membership which it views as the first step along the line to economic integration in the EU and the subsequent loss of Denmark's independence to follow sovereign economic policies.