Difficult negotiations loom as Danish Social Democrats fail to secure majority

Led by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Denmark’s Social Democrats won the most votes in the country’s general election, but failed to secure a majority, following the party’s weakest performance in more than a century.

With 21.9% of the votes, the Social Democrats, in power since 2019, finished first in Tuesday’s legislative elections.

With 38 parliamentary seats, the party remains by far the largest, but this is not enough to achieve victory on its own.

At the Danish parliament in Christiansborg, Social Democratic supporters cheered and applauded Frederiksen, who told the crowd: “I’m sorry we didn’t get more votes. I had also hoped for a better result.”

“But nothing today can make me sad that the Social Democrats have once again become the Danes’ favorite political party,” she concluded.

Frederiksen still has a chance to stay in power for a third term, but Denmark is typically led by coalition governments and tough negotiations – which could take days or weeks – now loom.

Twelve different political parties were on the ballot, and this hotly contested race went down to the wire.

With a total of 84 seats, the “red bloc” of left-wing parties took a small lead over the right-wing “blue bloc”, which totaled 77 seats.

The two blocs did not obtain the 90 seats needed to obtain a majority in the Danish Parliament which has 179 seats.

It is not yet clear which bloc will be able to form a majority.

“I have been responsible for this wonderful country for almost 7 years,” Frederiksen continued. “I am always ready to take on the responsibility of Danish Prime Minister.”

However, the Moderates, a small party holding 14 seats in the middle, now have the power to act as kingmaker, and all eyes are on its leader, former Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen.

He took the lead in handling the Greenland-US conflict and went viral with his punchline following a meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington.

On Tuesday evening, with his signature pipe and surrounded by supporters, Rasmussen told the crowd that he favored forming a government in the center.

“We’re in the middle,” he said. “We are ready.”

But Troels Lund Poulsen, who leads the Liberals, the blue bloc’s largest party, has categorically ruled out forming a government with the Social Democrats again and urged Rasmussen to join him on the right. “It is possible to take a new direction in Denmark,” he said.

DR political correspondent Christine Cordsen suggested the most likely outcome would be a center-left government made up of the Social Democrats, Red-Greens, Moderates and the Danish Social Liberal Party.

It was a heartbreaking election result for Frederiksen, who after six years in power has seen her popularity decline, although groaning Danes say they think she has done a good job guiding Denmark through international crises.

The election follows repeated demands from US President Donald Trump to acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory.

Frederiksen, 48, called the vote months ahead of schedule, betting that boosting her poll numbers following her handling of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to annex Greenland would help him secure a third term.

However, it was domestic concerns, rather than geopolitical ones, that dominated the election campaign. These include the cost of living, the state of the economy and welfare issues, although the high level of pesticides in drinking water – due to pig farming – and the climate footprint of agriculture have also become a concern for voters.