Danish PM's coalition likely to lose majority in parliament: exit poll

Denmark's former prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen is looked set to become a king-maker following an election in which neither the ruling left nor the right-wing opposition won a majority in parliament, according to an exit poll.

Tuesday's result could for the first time in more than four decades pave way for a government across the traditional left-right divide and would significantly change the Nordic country's political landscape.

Denmark's centre-left parties led by Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen were projected to win 85 seats in the 179-seat parliament, losing its majority, an exit poll by public broadcaster DR showed after polling stations closed.

Another exit poll carried out by the Megafon research institute for TV2 also suggested that Rasmussen would hold the balance of power.

Frederiksen was forced to call the election 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 Frederiksen since 2020 and eventually led to cracks in the centre-left bloc that backed her Social Democratic minority government in Parliament.

The 44-year-old now hopes to continue to govern in a broader alliance that would also include opposition parties, an idea so far rejected by opposition leaders Jakob Ellemann-Jensen of the Liberals and Soren Pape Poulsen of the Conservatives, both who are running as candidates for prime minister in a centre-right government.

“We are fighting to the end. It will be a close election,” Frederiksen said after voting north of Copenhagen. “I am optimistic but I am not sure of anything.”

READ MORE: Denmark votes as blocs woo the middle ground

Eyes on Rasmussen

A two-time government leader who lost the 2019 election to Frederiksen and abandoned the centre-right Liberal party following an internal power struggle, Rasmussen has formed his own party, the Moderates, in the political centre. 

Officially launched just four months ago, the Moderates have been polling around 10 percent which could put them in the position of kingmaker.

Løkke Rasmussen has refused to say whether he would lend his support to either side but has hinted he could see his party in a coalition spanning the left-right divide. Given his reputation as a strong negotiator, some analysts believe Løkke Rasmussen could even emerge as the prime minister of a coalition government.

Denmark’s more than four million voters had the choice of over 1,000 candidates — the most ever — from 14 parties. 

Four of the 179 seats in the Danish legislature, Folketinget, are reserved for the Faeroe Islands and Greenland, which are autonomous Danish territories.

Concerns about rising inflation and energy prices linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine and a shortage of nurses in the public health care system were key themes in election campaigns.

READ MORE: Danish PM calls general election in November