Difficult government formation looms in Denmark after election without a clear majority

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• After the parliamentary elections in Denmark, there is no clear majority, which makes forming a government difficult and protracted.
• Although the Social Democrats remain the strongest force, they are losing significantly and cannot achieve a majority with either the center or left-wing parties.
• Lars Løkke Rasmussen's Moderaterne party becomes a potential key player, while political differences and conflicts over content make negotiations more difficult.

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In Copenhagen, several parties celebrate their successes with wild parties the night after the parliamentary elections. However, a hangover mood is likely to soon set in. No political camp has been able to win a clear majority. And the formation of a government is likely to cause the Danes some headaches.

Although the Social Democrats led by head of government Mette Frederiksen once again became the strongest party with 21.9% of the vote, they lost twelve seats and performed worse than at any time in the last election more than a century ago. Her previous three-party coalition of the political center is far from a majority in parliament.

Frederiksen admits that the government has never been popular "to put it mildly" and has not been able to change this. But even an alliance between the Social Democrats and several left-green parties is not enough - the required majority of 90 of the 179 seats in parliament is out of reach.

Nevertheless, Frederiksen threw her hat into the ring for a third term of office that very night. "We have had the responsibility of governing under very difficult conditions," she said, alluding to the uncertain global situation with numerous crisis and conflict hotspots. Under these conditions, the Social Democrats' election result was "okay". Denmark now needs a stable government.

Voters punish centrist government

Frederiksen had already issued this motto in 2022, which is one of the reasons why he formed a broad government across political camps - with the right-wing liberal Venstre and Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen's Moderaterne party, which is part of the political center.

However, voters did not appreciate this unusual construct for Denmark. Instead, they punished both the Social Democrats and the right-wing Liberals of Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen. Although the latter remained the strongest party to the right of center, they achieved the worst result in their history with 10.1 percent.

Overall, the "blue bloc" of middle-class conservative parties won 77 seats in parliament - compared to 84 seats for the "red bloc" of left-wing parties. Rasmussen's party stands in the middle with 14 seats. They could now help one of the two blocs to reach the decisive number of 90 seats.

When two fight: "Løkke" as kingmaker?

Rasmussen already had such a joker role after the 2022 election - and ended up as foreign minister in Frederiksen's government. People in Denmark say that the former head of government has nine political lives. The politician, known in Denmark primarily by his middle name "Løkke", reinvented himself with the Moderaterne party after leaving the right-wing Liberals.

With a pipe in the corner of his mouth, the party leader arrives at his party's election party in the middle of the night. As he pushes his way through a huge crowd of cameras and reporters, journalists call out to him: "Are you red or blue?" Rasmussen doesn't have an answer at first. He doesn't have to decide yet. But he wants to play a role. In his speech on election night, he says to the previous coalition partners: "You stand in your corners. We are in the middle. Come and play with us!"

Frederiksen, on the other hand, did not want to commit herself on election night to whom she would speak first if she is given the mandate by Denmark's King Frederik X to negotiate the future of the government. Things are likely to get heated in the coming weeks. While the Social Democrats, just like the left-green parties, want to campaign for clean drinking water and better animal welfare, other issues are likely to come under fire. One point of contention: the tough migration policy that has become a trademark of the Social Democrats under Mette Frederiksen.

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The left-wing parties will not make it easy for Frederiksen, as they were able to celebrate gains in the election. The Socialist People's Party, which had campaigned for smaller school classes and more climate protection, even became the second strongest party in parliament with 11.6 percent. "The Danes have spoken - and they want more red and green policies in this country," said the leader of the left-wing party Enhedslisten, Pelle Dragsted.

However, the supporters of a crackdown on foreigners were also able to win over more voters: after a disastrous result four years ago, the right-wing populist Danish People's Party achieved 9.1 percent this time (2022: 2.6 percent). Right-wing populist parties also made slight gains overall.

In Denmark, many decisions are made with a broad majority across political camps anyway. Minority governments are normal - the decisive factor for a future government is that it does not have a majority against it. Nevertheless: "There is not much to suggest that it will be easy here," says Mette Frederiksen. And then, in true Danish fashion, calls for compromises.

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