Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced that the country will hold a snap election following the dispute with the United States over Greenland.
She called the March 24 ballot today during a plenary session of the Danish parliament in Copenhagen.
Voters will decide who will sit at the Folketing, the Danish parliament. It hosts 179 seats, four of them representing Faroe Islands and Greenland territories.
Danish general elections must be held at least every four years, but the Prime Minister can call one at any time.
The country was originally scheduled to vote by October 31, but the decision to bring the election forward is driven by the recent surge in support for Frederiksen’s governing Social Democrats.
Frederiksen, who has been in office since mid-2019, suffered a major loss in December during the municipal elections but has since jumped in the polls thanks to her defence of Denmark’s sovereignty against US President Donald Trump’s push for control of Greenland.
According to latest polls, her party could secure 22 per cent of votes, almost double the projected support for the Green Left.
Frederiksen stayed silent on with whom she would govern if she wins the election. She did say, though, that she could conceive of a repeat partnership with “the political middle” as easily as an alliance with the Left, adding: “I am not ruling anything out in advance.”
She stated the vote will be critical, stressing that Denmark and Europe must stand on their own rights and that the integrity of Denmark must be maintained.
