Danes began voting on Tuesday in an election that could give a third term to Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who is credited with leading the country in the fight against President Donald Trump’s threat to seize Greenland.
Frederiksen, a 48-year-old Social Democrat, had called for the vote months before the October deadline.
Observers say he chose his moment carefully as his ruling party suffered significant losses last year due to discontent over the rising cost of living and tough asylum reforms.
But his party’s image has recovered since Frederiksen rejected Trump’s threat to seize control of Greenland, an island in the Arctic Ocean that is a semi-autonomous territory controlled by Denmark.
Polls now put the Social Democrats at 21%, up from a low of 17% in December.
Polling stations open at 8 a.m. local time and close at 8 p.m., when the exit poll results are expected.
Voting affected due to domestic concerns
Voting concerns have now reached the household level, with concerns like wealth tax proposals and the debate about immigration rising to the top again.
Still, Fredrickson has campaigned on the promise that his hard-and-tested leadership skills will help the country of 6 million navigate a complicated relationship with Washington and the European response to Russia’s war with Ukraine.
A fractured political landscape
Frederiksen has led Denmark since 2019, when she became the country’s youngest prime minister at the age of 41.
He was credited with leading a coalition government that bridged the left-right divide for the first time in more than 40 years.
But since then the political landscape has become fragmented, with 12 parties contesting the elections this time.
Projections show the leftist faction that includes Frederiksen’s Social Democrats narrowly ahead but are still expected to fall short of the 90 seats needed for a majority in Denmark’s 179-seat parliament.
Additionally, the four seats allocated to candidates from Greenland and the Faroe Islands could prove decisive.
Nevertheless, with the leftist faction expected to remain strong and the rightist faction expected to disintegrate, Frederiksen remains the favorite to muster the parliamentary majority to rule the coalition.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery