COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) 鈥� Denmark鈥檚 foreign minister and his centrist party are expected to decide who will lead the after ended without a clear majority for any party or bloc.
Center-left Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen could survive for a third term, despite a disappointing result. But she will need to negotiate a deal with the kingmaker, Foreign Minister Lars L酶kke Rasmussen, if she is to lead a new coalition.
鈥淭he Danes have spoken. They have given us a playing field that, to put it mildly, is a bit tricky to handle when it comes to forming a government,” Frederiksen said Wednesday. “But a government must be formed. The world out there doesn鈥檛 wait for us, and it has only become even more unsettled than when the election was called.鈥�
The campaign focused on bread-and-butter issues rather than the crisis over U.S. President ambitions toward .
The outgoing government resigned Wednesday. Leaders from each party debated their positions in a roundtable setting and met with to discuss the country鈥檚 future.
Denmark鈥檚 single-chamber parliament, the Folketing, is elected for a four-year term. Lawmakers from Denmark hold 175 of its seats, while two each go to representatives from thinly populated Greenland and the kingdom鈥檚 other semiautonomous territory, the Faroe Islands.
More than 4.3 million people were eligible to vote in a country of 6 million people. Nearly 84% of the electorate cast their ballots.
Here’s what to know:
No party won a majority
Official results showed that Frederiksen鈥檚 center-left Social Democrats lost ground compared with the last election in 2022, as did her two partners in the outgoing government.
No single party won a majority in parliament, which was expected. Denmark鈥檚 system of proportional representation typically produces coalition governments, traditionally made up of several parties from either the 鈥渞ed bloc鈥� on the left or the 鈥渂lue bloc鈥� on the right, after weeks of negotiations.
Frederiksen鈥檚 outgoing administration was the first in decades to straddle the left-right divide, and she said she is ready to stay on as prime minister for a third term. Her Social Democrats remained the biggest single party by some distance but Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen, the best-placed center-right challenger to Frederiksen, made clear that he and his Liberal party don鈥檛 intend to go into government with the Social Democrats again.
Still, Danish election expert Rune Stubager believes Frederiksen will survive as prime minister.
鈥淲hether it will be in a new centrist coalition or a government based mostly on votes from the red bloc, that is up to the negotiations,鈥� Stubager, who co-heads the Danish National Election Study, said Wednesday.
The 48-year-old Frederiksen is known for strong in its defense against Russia鈥檚 invasion and for a restrictive approach to migration 鈥� continuing what has become a tradition in Danish politics.
The 鈥榢ingmaker鈥� decides the next steps
Because neither the left-leaning nor right-leaning blocs won a majority, L酶kke Rasmussen is now in the role of kingmaker. His centrist Moderate party, with 14 lawmakers in the 179-seat parliament, is in a position to determine whether Frederiksen can serve a third term at the helm of the European Union and NATO country. It takes 90 seats to form a majority.
L酶kke Rasmussen called on rivals on the left and right to climb down from some of the positions they staked out in the campaign, and 鈥渃ome and play with us.鈥�
Neither of the blocs are able to form a majority without the support of the Moderates, making them the only real winner of the election.
“I offered the other day 鈥� and it remains our position 鈥� to take responsibility for sitting down with parties on both sides of the political center line to see whether a political platform can be created, on which a government agreement could then subsequently be established,鈥� L酶kke Rasmussen said Wednesday.
Stubager said they should be able to force concessions from each party’s campaign promises to reach their goal 鈥� a centrist government.
鈥淎s far as I can see it, it’s not possible to form a government if all these tripwires are intact,鈥� Stubager said. 鈥淪o somebody will have to go back on a promise in order for there to be a government.鈥�
Greenland gave the foreign minister a stage
Part of the Moderates’ success can be attributed to , Stubager said. Late last year, the party was polling poorly, but then got a major bump from L酶kke Rasmussen, the government鈥檚 foreign minister, through his diplomatic work to calm the tensions with the U.S. that included a headline-grabbing trip to Washington.
鈥淒onald Trump put up a stage on which Lars L酶kke could perform, and he performed well in the eyes of most Danes,鈥� Stubager said.
Frederiksen also was banking on Greenland. Her own polls earlier this year showed an increase in support, prompting her to call the election in February 鈥� several months before she had to. She apparently hoped that her resolute image in the standoff would help her with voters.
The early election was not necessarily a failed gamble, as the Social Democrats鈥� support had been lower before the crisis spiked.
Frederiksen warned in January that an American takeover of Greenland would amount to the . But the crisis has simmered down, at least for now.
on threats to impose tariffs on Denmark and other European countries that opposed the U.S. taking control of the vast Arctic island, and the U.S., Denmark and Greenland on an Arctic security deal. The discussions are ongoing.
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Dazio reported from Berlin.
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