Danish prime minister calls general election for Nov. 1

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has called a general election for Tuesday Nov. 1, seven months ahead of the end of her term in office

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Wednesday called a general election for Tuesday Nov. 1, seven months ahead of the end of her term in office.

Frederiksen, who has headed the Social Democratic minority government since June 2019, has seen her popularity dwindle in recent weeks due to her role in a pandemic-era decision to wipe out Denmark’s entire captive mink population.

Polls show that the center-left bloc is neck-and-neck with the center-right opposition, which includes parties that want to reduce immigration.

In June, a Danish Parliament-appointed commission harshly criticized Frederiksen's government for its decision to cull millions of healthy mink at the height of the coronavirus pandemic to protect humans from a mutation of the virus.

The election will select members of the 179-seat Folketing, or Parliament.