Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s bid for a third term was complicated Tuesday when her left-leaning bloc won the election but fell short of a majority.
The grouping — made up of the Social Democrats, the centre-right Venstre and the Moderates led by Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen — captured 84 seats in Denmark’s 179-seat parliament. The right-wing bloc won 77 seats. Rasmussen’s Moderates took 14 seats, positioning his party as kingmaker and setting up difficult coalition talks.
“We must not be divided. We must not be red. We must not be blue. We have to work together,” Rasmussen told supporters.
Frederiksen called the snap election months ahead of the October deadline after emerging as a prominent figure in the response to former President Donald Trump’s reported interest in Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory. Her handling of that episode had bolstered her party’s standing, but Tuesday’s outcome still marked a sharp decline for the Social Democrats, who fell to 21.9% — their worst share since the start of the last century and down from 27.5% in 2022.
“I am ready to take on the responsibility of serving as Denmark’s prime minister again for the next four years,” Frederiksen said after the vote.
Domestic issues dominated the campaign, with debates over a proposed wealth tax and immigration rising to the fore. Exit polls showed the political landscape more fragmented than it appeared, with voters focused on those domestic concerns rather than foreign policy alone.
Frederiksen has led Denmark since 2019, becoming the country’s youngest-ever prime minister at 41, and was credited with heading an unprecedented cross-spectrum coalition. This election saw 12 parties on the ballot, reflecting a splintered political scene.
Greenland’s leaders stressed the election’s importance for the island. “I think it’s the most important election for the Danish parliament in Greenland in history,” Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told AFP, citing concerns about external powers seeking influence.
With the left bloc likely to remain unified and the right expected to fragment, Frederiksen is still the frontrunner to try to assemble a majority and lead a coalition government.
Edited by Rana Taha and Wesley Dockery