Danes Vote As PM Mette Frederiksen Seeks Third Term After Greenland Boost

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Adrienne Murray, In Copenhagenand


Paul Kirby, Europe digital editor


Danes are enacting an election with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's Social Democrats intending for a 3rd term.


Frederiksen, 48, called the vote months earlier than anticipated, buoyed by popular assistance for her handling of US President Donald Trump's hazard to annex Greenland, a self-governing Danish area.


Her Social Democrats have lost support since the 2022 elections and she is facing a strong difficulty from two parties on the centre-right, consisting of the Liberal Venstre celebration of Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.


Denmark is run by union governments and Tuesday's vote will decide whether power will remain with a left-win bloc or relocate to the right.


Latest viewpoint polls offer Frederiksen's Social Democrats by the far the largest share of the vote, on more than 20%, well ahead of the Liberals and Green Left.


Although the election is not being combated on the Greenland crisis, Frederiksen is gambling that the "Trump bump" that boosted her poll numbers after her defiant stance on Greenland will be adequate to hand her a 3rd term in a tight election race.


Denmark, which has long been one of the closest US allies in Nato, has rebuffed Trump's quotes to take over Greenland, and the Danes and their European partners sent a military contingent to the island last January.


Broadly-speaking, nevertheless, there is a broad consensus in Denmark on foreign policy, so it is domestic issues that have dominated the campaign path.


Instead, the state of the economy and the expense of living are crucial concerns, with Frederiksen proposing a 0.5% wealth tax for the wealthiest 20,000 Danes. The high level of pesticides in drinking water since of pig farming and farming has likewise become a concern for voters, with some celebrations including Frederiksen's calling for a restriction.


However, her party's lead in the surveys is not likely to be to keep the 90 seats she needs to hold a majority in parliament.


After a commanding win in 2022, Frederiksen led a coalition across the middle, that saw her Social Democrats coordinate with the centrist Moderates and right-of-centre Liberals, and all 3 parties are down substantially in the polls.


Troels Lund Poulsen of the Liberals has become another prospect for prime minister, but he needs a strong proving in Tuesday's vote.


Even with the biggest vote share, the Social Democrats are heading for their weakest outcome in more than a century. In last year's regional elections, they slumped to 17%.


The polls recommend neither the "red" left-wing bloc nor the "blue" bloc on the right will have the ability to form a bulk without relying on the centrist Moderates of Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen to function as kingmaker.


The 4 parliamentary seats held by Greenland and the Faroe Islands, could also show influential, with the possibility for the first time in decades that at least among the Greenlandic seats turns from red to blue.


Rasmussen, who also impressed Danes with his handling of the Greenland stand-off, has already voiced his aspiration to take on the job of royal detective - an essential function in forging a governing union.


However, the royal investigator typically ends up being the next prime minister, and Rasmussen has shown he has no desire to lead the nation again, having actually served 2 terms as prime minister in the past.


He informed reporters that he wished to be at the forefront of forming the next government's policy, with Denmark requiring to "stand together at a time of department".