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 voting in an election with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's Social Democrats aiming for a 3rd term.
Frederiksen, 48, called the vote months earlier than anticipated, buoyed by popular support for her handling of US President Donald Trump's hazard to annex Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory.
Her Social Democrats have lost support since the 2022 elections and she is dealing with a strong difficulty from 2 celebrations on the centre-right, including the Liberal Venstre party of Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.
Denmark is run by union federal governments and Tuesday's vote will choose whether power will remain with a left-win bloc or move to the right.
Latest opinion polls give Frederiksen's Social Democrats by the far the biggest 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 suffice 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 actually rebuffed Trump's bids to take control of Greenland, and the Danes and their European partners sent out a military contingent to the island last January.
Broadly-speaking, however, there is a broad agreement in Denmark on diplomacy, so it is domestic concerns that have actually dominated the project trail.
Instead, the state of the economy and the expense of living are essential problems, with Frederiksen proposing a 0.5% wealth tax for the richest 20,000 Danes. The high level of pesticides in drinking water due to the fact that of pig farming and has also end up being an issue for citizens, with some celebrations including Frederiksen's requiring a restriction.
However, her celebration's lead in the surveys is not most likely to be enough to maintain the 90 seats she needs to hold a majority in parliament.
After a commanding win in 2022, Frederiksen led a coalition throughout the middle, that saw her Social Democrats coordinate with the centrist Moderates and right-of-centre Liberals, and all three parties are down significantly in the surveys.
Troels Lund Poulsen of the Liberals has become another candidate for prime minister, but he needs a strong showing in Tuesday's vote.
Even with the biggest vote share, the Social Democrats are heading for their weakest result in more than a century. In in 2015's local elections, they plunged to 17%.
The polls suggest 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 act as kingmaker.
The 4 parliamentary seats held by Greenland and the Faroe Islands, might also prove prominent, with the possibility for the very first time in decades that a minimum of one of 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 investigator - an essential role in creating a governing union.
However, the royal detective generally becomes the next prime minister, and Rasmussen has actually indicated he has no desire to lead the nation again, having served two terms as prime minister in the past.
He told 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".