Larsen and the Communist Party complied with the orders from Moscow and began working for the popular front policy. In March 1938 following Adolf Hitler’s takeover of Austria in the Anschluss, Larsen held a speech in which he used a more patriotic rhetoric than before and warned that Denmark could suffer the same fate. After the speech, the communists urged the Social Democrats and the Social Liberal Party to join them in a popular front. In a letter to the Social Democratic leader and prime minister Thorvald Stauning, Larsen promised “the most unconditional and loyal support”.