COPENHAGEN – Danish citizens headed to the polls on Tuesday as Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen sought her third term leading the Scandinavian nation. This election follows a notable diplomatic clash with U.S. President Donald Trump concerning Greenland, a semiautonomous territory under Denmark’s jurisdiction.
Over 4.3 million Danes were eligible to cast their votes for the Folketing, Denmark’s parliament, which holds a four-year term. This election came after Frederiksen’s decision in February to call for an early vote, seemingly to capitalize on her leadership during the Greenland dispute, aiming to bolster her standing among voters in the EU and NATO-member country.
However, Frederiksen’s second term witnessed a decline in her support, largely due to rising living costs, a significant issue alongside pensions and potential wealth taxation during the campaign. The 48-year-old leader of the center-left Social Democrats is recognized for her firm stance in supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression and for maintaining a strict approach to immigration, a consistent theme in Danish politics over the past twenty years.
In response to pressure from the right and potential increased migration due to the conflict in Iran, Frederiksen recently proposed measures including an “emergency brake” on asylum and stricter controls on non-resident criminals. Her administration had previously set forth a plan allowing the deportation of foreigners convicted of serious crimes with sentences of at least one year in prison.
The 48-year-old center-left Social Democrat is known for strong support of Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion and for a restrictive approach to migration — continuing a tradition in Danish politics that now goes back two decades.
Seeking to counter pressure from the right and pointing to a possible surge in migration because of the Iran war, Frederiksen announced proposals this month that include a potential “emergency brake” on asylum and tighter controls on criminals who lack legal residence. Her government had already unveiled a plan to allow the deportation of foreigners who have been sentenced to at least one year in prison for serious crimes.
Two center-right challengers hope to oust Frederiksen as prime minister. One is in her current government — Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen of the Liberal, or Venstre, party, which headed several recent administrations.
The other is Alex Vanopslagh, 34, of the opposition Liberal Alliance, which calls for lower taxes and less bureaucracy, and for Denmark to abandon its refusal to use nuclear power. But a recent admission from Vanopslagh to taking cocaine earlier in his time as party leader may have dented his chances.
Further to the right, the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party looks well-placed to bounce back from a very weak showing at the last election in 2022.
No single party is expected to come anywhere near winning a majority. Denmark’s system of proportional representation typically produces coalition governments, traditionally made up of several parties from either the “red bloc” on the left or the “blue bloc” on the right, after weeks of negotiations.
Frederiksen’s outgoing three-party administration was the first in decades to straddle the political divide. It remains to be seen whether this election will result in a repeat, with the centrist Moderate party of Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen possibly acting as the kingmaker.
Greenland, which took up much of the government’s energy in recent months, hasn’t been a significant issue in the campaign because there is broad agreement on its place in the kingdom.
Frederiksen warned in January that an American takeover of Greenland would amount to the end of NATO. But the crisis has simmered down, at least for now.
After Trump backed down on threats to impose tariffs on Denmark and other European countries that opposed the U.S. taking control of the vast Arctic island, the U.S., Denmark and Greenland started technical talks on an Arctic security deal.
Denmark’s single-chamber parliament has 179 seats. Of those, 175 go to lawmakers from Denmark itself and two each for representatives from thinly populated Greenland and the kingdom’s other semiautonomous territory, the Faroe Islands.
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Moulson reported from Berlin.
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