After Denmark held an election yesterday for its national parliament, two of the. country’s current governing parties faced the worst election results in more than 100 years.
Despite being likely to continue as Denmark’s Prime Minister for a third term, Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democrats (S&D) yesterday suffered a major blow from voters.
The party received the fewest votes in 125 years, at 21.1 per cent, but Frederiksen maintained that the final result was “okay” after nearly seven years in power.
When he took the stage at the S&D’ selection event, she acknowledged the poor outcome: “Of course, I’m disappointed that we didn’t get more votes. I had also hoped for a better result.”
The remaining two parties in the current centre government both lost ground compared with the previous election. The centre-right liberal party Venstre experienced a devastating defeat, falling to 10.1 per cent, its lowest voter support ever.
Meanwhile, the centre party Moderaterne made a significant comeback after polls at the end of 2025 suggested the party might not even pass the threshold required to secure seats in parliament.
The administration of US President Donald Trump helped propel Moderaterne leader Lars Løkke Rasmussen back to popularity when he, as Denmark’s foreign minister, travelled to Washington for a showdown with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio over Greenland.
Even though Moderaterne lost voter backing compared with the last election, the party stands to become decisive in forming a new government.
However, “forming a government could be difficult because some parties have not ruled out anything,” says Ditte Shamshiri-Petersen, lecturer at Aalborg University and an expert in Danish elections, to Brussels Signal.
She refered to the Social Democrats and the centrist party Moderaterne being open to a coalition government across the political aisle.
Shamshiri-Petersen speculates that a potential government could include both the Social Democrats, centre-right and green parties.
Yet, with some centre-right parties and the green party SF ruling out cooperation with one another – at least during the election campaign – she predicts the next government will probably lean to the left.
“I think the most likely scenario would be a centre-left government.”
Certainly neither the Right nor the Left bloc in parliament will be able to muster the necessary 90 mandates to form a government without Moderaterne.
The right-wing party Dansk Folkeparti was among the biggest winners. After a disappointing result in 2022, the party recorded the largest surge in votes of any party.
Campaigning vigorously on a hard-line stance on migration and proposals to ease the cost of living, Dansk Folkeparti tripled its votes compared with the previous election and reached 9.1 per cent of the electorate.
Another winner was the Socialist People’s Party (SF). It attracted dissatisfied voters leaving the S&D and has now become Denmark’s second-largest party, positioning it as a potential partner in the next government.
Despite a cocaine scandal in which Liberal Alliance party leader Alex Vanopslagh admitted to having used the drug during his time as head of the party, it won the most votes in its history.
Now a majority in the new parliament must select a formation negotiator to form a new government.
A right-wing or centre-right government could prove difficult to assemble, as key parties have ruled out co-operating.
Dansk Folkeparti and Moderaterne, both required to reach a majority, have rejected entering into a coalition with each other.
As head of the far largest party, Frederiksen has ruled out supporting a government without her at the helm.
During the election campaign, her S&D proposed a wealth tax and a partial ban on spraying pesticides near drinking water wells to appeal to left-leaning voters.
Since right-wing parties have strongly criticised the wealth tax and broadly maintained opposition to the partial pesticide ban, Frederiksen may need to look to left-wing and centre parties to deliver on these election promises.
“Denmark needs a stable government, a competent government. We are ready to take the lead,” said Mette Frederiksen during her election speech last night.
Government negotiations are expected to be difficult with 12 parties represented in the new Danish parliament.
