Social Democrats cling on to power in Denmark
Incumbent PM Mette Frederiksen wants to form a broad coalition of centrist parties

Denmark’s centre-left will retain a slim majority in parliament after a general election widely regarded as a confidence vote in the nation’s leader.
Following a “nail-biting count”, the Social Democrats are clinging to power after taking 28% of votes, said Politico, paving the way for another term for the incumbent prime minister, Mette Frederiksen.
Her bloc won precisely the 90 seats needed for a majority, thanks to three mandates from Greenland and the Faroe Islands. “Social democracy had its best election in over 20 years,” Frederiksen said in a speech during her election-night party in the capital, Copenhagen.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, noted the BBC, she wants to form a “broader coalition” and has tendered the government’s resignation to the queen.
Frederiksen was originally forced to call an early election in October amid an outcry over her government’s handling of a country-wide mink cull at fur farms during the Covid pandemic. A report found that the government’s order to kill up to 17 million mink in 2020 had no legal basis.
Danish politics has previously “stuck strictly to separate left- and right-wing blocs that have taken turns in governing”, said the Financial Times, but Frederiksen has said she would like to see a centrist government involving the main parties from both the left and right, to minimise the influence of extremist parties.
Nevertheless, said New Statesman, a “close election and a shifting political landscape isn’t likely to change the country’s anti-immigration policies” because “there is a broad anti-immigration consensus in Danish politics”, including from Frederiksen, who declared in 2019 that she wanted her country to accept “zero” asylum seekers.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Writing for Al Jazeera, Somdeep Sen said “a range of anti-immigrant and anti-asylum laws” and an “increasingly xenophobic political discourse” have made him feel “unwelcome” in Denmark.
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of Taiwan
In the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdown
IN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
Denmark’s record-setting arms purchase raises eyebrows and anxiety
IN THE SPOTLIGHT By eschewing American-made munitions for their European counterparts, the Danish government is bracing for Russian antagonism and sending a message to the West
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American cities
Under the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctions
The Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?
today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago