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Thorvald Stauning negotiates
Stauning, now a central figure in the unfolding crisis, returned to DsF after a meeting with the King and the new Prime Minister, Liebe, with a message that Liebe seemed amenable to Stauning’s announced general strike. There were different reactions to Stauning’s analysis of the situation after the meeting with the King and Liebe. Borgbjerg in particular continued to disagree with Stauning about the timing of a general strike, but Stauning’s reluctance to set a specific date seemed to give him a strategic advantage over the king and Liebe.
See pictures from the Easter crisis in our photo database
In the following days, negotiations took place between the trade union movement and Liebe, and between Stauning and Liebe alone. At the same time, Liebe regained strength by rallying the bourgeois parties to hold a general election on April 22, before a new election law could be adopted. A general election under the existing electoral law, which seemed to favor the Liberal Party, would be a disaster for the Social Democratic Party, which is why it was necessary for Stauning to regain strength and initiative.
Parade from Copenhagen City Hall to Amalienborg
On Easter Saturday, Social Democratic and Radical citizen representatives marched from Copenhagen City Hall to Amalienborg, demanding Liebe’s resignation and the appointment of a ministry with a parliamentary majority. In addition to Stauning, Mayor Jens Jensen and the Social Democratic group chairman Peder Hedelbol were in the lead. Staged as in 1848, the delegation walked with the hope that it could develop into a popular procession and demonstration. While the Conservatives and Liberals had announced that they wanted Liebe to remain in office, the Social Democrats and the Radicals, who together had a majority, gathered to demand that the king respect the parliamentary majority. It read: “We urge the king, even at the last minute, to cooperate in order to avert the impending general strike, which could have fateful consequences for the country’s capital.”
Thousands had gathered at Amalienborg Palace Square when Stauning and the others arrived with the message to the king. “Republic” and “Down with Christian” rang out from the demonstrators. One shot was fired, it is not known why, but the stage was set when the King and Liebe received the delegation. The King was very affected by the tense situation and let Liebe take the floor during the meeting with the delegation. Above all, the King and Liebe wanted to avoid a general strike and were willing to negotiate anything if that threat was taken off the table. The King was more depressed and apprehensive than Liebe, and after the meeting Stauning could also declare to the large crowd in the palace square that “the King promised to consider our urgent words, but at his side was a Prime Minister whose statements were of such a character that there is not much hope for a peaceful solution”.
