Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's Prime Minister and leader of the Social Democrats, during a party following the exit polls of the election, at the Parliament in Copenhagen.Leonhard Foeger/Reuters
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is facing an uphill battle to remain in office after preliminary results showed her Social Democrats were on track for a poor showing in the country’s national election Tuesday.
With nearly all votes counted, the centre-left Social Democrats have won 22 per cent of the popular vote, a drop of five points from the last election, in 2022. The party was projected to lose as many as 12 seats and fall to 38 in the 179-seat parliament, which assigns seats based on a proportion of the popular vote each party receives.
Ms. Frederiksen, who is seeking her third term as Prime Minister, had been hoping voters would reward her for standing up to U.S. President Donald Trump over the future of Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory. She took on the President after he mused about annexing the island by force, and her international stature grew when other European leaders and Prime Minister Mark Carney offered their support.
She has become a leading figure in Europe and NATO, known for her strong support for Ukraine and for championing efforts by European governments to spend more on defence.
Danes head to vote on Tuesday in a general election dominated by concerns over the cost of living, welfare and security. The race has also been shaped by U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to take control of Greenland.
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She and Mr. Carney have also joined forces to push for an increased NATO presence in the Arctic. She even took a break from campaigning this month to share a stage with Mr. Carney in Oslo at a summit that also included leaders from Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Finland.
At that event, she fully backed Mr. Carney’s call for middle powers to take on a larger role in global affairs. With everything going on in the world, “countries like ours have to stand together. We have to stick together, and we have to work together, and that is what we have committed ourselves to do once again,” she told Mr. Carney and the other leaders.
The outgoing centrist coalition led by Ms. Frederiksen − which included the Social Democrats, the centre-right Liberals and the Moderates − was forecast to lose as many as 19 seats and drop to 70 MPs.
Final results won’t be known until early Wednesday morning, and the Social Democrats were still widely expected to win the most seats. However, forming a coalition could take weeks given that as many as 12 parties were likely to elect MPs.
Much like Mr. Carney, who called a snap election last year to take advantage of Canadian’s growing anxiety over Mr. Trump’s trade policies, Ms. Frederiksen called an early vote last month just as the U.S. President’s threats grew more bellicose and there was talk of a possible U.S. invasion.
Members of Denmark's Social Democrats react after the first exit polls for the election.MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN/AFP/Getty Images
But Mr. Trump’s rhetoric cooled, the invasion threat faded, and the war in Iran took precedence. Ms. Frederiksen was left to fight an election campaign largely on domestic issues such as affordability, farm policies and the introduction of a wealth tax. The exit polls indicated that most voters were not impressed.
The overall “red” block of leftist parties, which includes the Social Democrats, was projected to win as many as 83 seats, just below the 89-seat threshold needed for a majority. The “blue” block of conservative parties was on course to win 78 seats. The remainder consisted of the Moderates, at 14 and two MPs each from Greenland and the Faroe Islands, which is also a self-governing territory.
For Ms. Frederiksen, 48, to have any chance of staying in office, she will likely have to negotiate with Lars Løkke Rasmussen, leader of the Moderates, who has made it clear that he is prepared to talk with parties from both blocs.
Mr. Rasmussen served as foreign affairs minister in the outgoing coalition government and also gained global attention for opposing Mr. Trump’s threats regarding Greenland. He led Denmark’s discussions with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The chairman of the Danish People's Party Morten Messerschmidt gestures at an election party following the exit polls of the parliamentary election, at the Parliament in Copenhagen.Leonhard Foeger/Reuters
One of the biggest winners Tuesday was Morten Messerschmidt, leader of the far-right Danish People’s Party, or DF. The party tripled its vote total from the last election to nine per cent and was forecast to win as many as 16 seats, up from five in 2022.
The anti-immigration party had struggled in recent years as Ms. Frederiksen moved the Social Democrats to the right and introduced some of Europe’s toughest immigration laws. But Mr. Messerschmidt appears to have tapped into voter discontentment with the government, and the DF relied on some unusual campaign tactics, including offering discount gasoline at several service stations to highlight the soaring cost of living.
“Dear friends. The Danish People’s Party is back,” Mr. Messerschmidt told cheering supporters Tuesday night. “Lars Løkke and Mette Frederiksen have torn the country apart.”