Denmark could vote to leave the European Union (EU) in the event of a Brexit, a poll has revealed.
According to a survey by polling firm Epinion for business consultancy Analyseenheden 4V, 27 per cent would vote to leave the EU if Britain does the same, compared to 30 per cent who would vote to remain, putting the result within the margin of error.
Given the way referendums have previously gone in the country, with the pro-EU side starting ahead only to be defeated on polling day, this could make Danish withdrawal a real possibility if the country ever held a referendum.
“No referendum has been called, but if it were, the result would likely be a Daxit, or Danexit,” according to Erik Hogh-Sorensen, a partner at Analyseenheden 4V.
The consultancy has also produced a 54-page analysis that says there would be no global economic meltdown in the event of a Brexit, and that a “Danexit” would become more appealing as Denmark, which has just a 1.1 per cent voting share on the Council of Ministers, relies on Britain to support a free-trade agenda.
Denmark has a long tradition of holding referendums on EU issues. In a potential lesson for Britain, the country voted in December 2015 against plans to abolish the country’s opt-outs on European judicial and migrant policies.
“The yes side started out way ahead in the polls, but ended up losing as undecided voters made up their opinion,” Hogh-Sorensen said.
The poll is further evidence that anti-Establishment feeling is sweeping across Europe.
Last week, Dutch voters rejected a new EU trade deal with Ukraine by 64 per cent against 36, despite a concerted effort from the country’s government to accept the deal.
Geert Wilders, whose Party for Freedom opposed the deal, wrote for Breitbart London ahead of the referendum: “The EU is ruled by an undemocratic bureaucracy and ever more Europeans have enough of it. And no one can prevent the Dutch people using this referendum to voice their dislike of the EU, and of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the present chairman of the European Council.”