Denmark to hold election with promises of much tougher immigration laws

Denmark is holding a general election Wednesday, and unlike other European countries, far-right populists don't seem to be on the rise there.

The governing centre-right coalition led by Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen faces strong pressure from the centre-left Social Democrats, who are poised to make a comeback after four years in opposition.

All the same, the Social Democrats, under the leadership of Mette Frederiksen, have had to toughen their stance on immigration to win back voters who drifted to right-wing parties in 2015, when Europe's migration crisis was at a peak. 

"Every day they are changing so many rules, almost impossible for asylum seekers, it's difficult to expect something good, there is something I'm worried about, to leave my family, so I have a big fear," said Dejene Daba, an asylum seeker.

One of the key issues on voters' minds has been the environment, and the roughly 300,000 first-time voters are likely to give the climate agenda a high priority, in part thanks to Greta Thunberg, the teenage Swedish climate activist who has mobilised young people across Europe.

The ruling centre-right Liberal Party and the opposition Social Democrats both say a tough stance in immigration is needed to protect Denmark's cherished welfare system and to integrate the migrants and refugees already in the country.

TRT World's Francis Collings has more.