Denmark election: Tight result keeps Social Democrats in power as left-wing bloc wins outright majority

Mette Frederiksen says she will form new government with broader support

Denmark's prime minister and head of the Social Democratic Party Mette Frederiksen gestures during the country's general election night at the party's office in Copenhagen, Denmark (AP)

Denmark’s centre-left leadership has retained power in a knife-edge general election, putting prime minister Mette Frederiksen in a strong position to form a government again after her party secured the most votes.

Ms Frederiksen’s “red bloc” of parties secured the 90 seats required for a parliamentary majority late in the count on Tuesday with the last-minute flip of a crucial seat.

“I am so thrilled and proud. We have gotten the best election result in 20 years,” Ms Frederiksen told supporters early on Wednesday in Copenhagen.

Ms Frederiksen, who heads the current Social Democratic-led minority government, said she would resign before speaking to all parties about forming a new government with broader support across the political divide.

“It is also clear there is no longer a majority behind the government in its current form. Therefore, tomorrow I will submit the government’s resignation to the queen,” Ms Frederiksen said, adding that she would meet with other parties about forming a new government.

Ms Frederiksen was forced to call the vote earlier this month amid the fallout from her government’s contentious decision to cull millions of minks as a pandemic response measure.

The cull and chilling images of mass graves of minks have haunted Ms Frederiksen since 2020 and eventually led to cracks in the centre-left bloc.

With all ballots counted, the Social Democrats remained Denmark‘s top party with 28 per cent of the vote, giving them two more seats than at the previous election in 2019. But it had remained unclear long into the night whether the centre-left parties together would reach the 90 seats needed for a majority in the 179-seat Parliament.

Exit polls suggested they would fall short, but a decisive seat flipped at the very end of the vote count.

Her opponent, former prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, won 9 per cent of the vote for 16 seats, according to the preliminary results.

While the results have shown the voters still have confidence in her centre-left bloc and Ms Frederiksen, she said she would keep her ambition to also reach out to opposition parties.

“The Social Democrats went to the election to form a broad government,” she said. “I will investigate whether it can be done.”

Additional reporting by agencies