Danish rightwing leader asked to form government after Frederiksen fails to form coalition

"The king of Denmark has asked a centre-right politician to try to form a new government after the prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, has failed to put together a ruling coalition. The announcement on Friday night shook the political establishment as Frederiksen has been a staple of Danish politics for decades. Her left-leaning party, the Social Democrats, won the plurality of votes in parliamentary elections in March. But despite winning the most votes, it was the Social Democrats' worst electoral showing since 1903 and no party won a majority."

"Frederiksen has since tried to form a left-leaning government with the support of Lars Lkke Rasmussen's centre-right moderates. He is seen as a kingmaker owing to his position in the middle between Frederiksen and Troels Lund Poulsen, the chair of the centre-right liberal party. However, Frederiksen struggled to gather the support of Denmark's increasingly fragmented parties and on Friday night, Rasmussen, the country's former foreign minister, walked out of negotiations and threw his weight behind Poulsen."

"On Friday, the king issued a statement requesting that Poulsen lead the negotiations with a view to forming a government, without the participation of the Social Democrats and moderates. Poulsen will be given the job of marshalling a coalition of rightwing parties to form a new government a fragile process that could take weeks. Already, the attempt to build a government has been the longest in Danish history."

"Danish politics has skewed increasingly right in recent years, with the March elections showing gains for several rightwing parties. The traditional far-right party, the Danish People's party, had a particularly strong showing, tripling its votes from the last election to 9.1%. The former foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen (left), i"

Mette Frederiksen failed to form a ruling coalition after March parliamentary elections produced no majority. The Social Democrats won the most votes but recorded their weakest result since 1903. Frederiksen attempted a left-leaning government with support from Lars Løkke Rasmussen’s centre-right moderates, but negotiations stalled as Denmark’s parties became more fragmented. Rasmussen walked out and backed Troels Lund Poulsen, positioning him as a key figure between competing blocs. The king then asked Poulsen to lead negotiations to form a government excluding the Social Democrats and moderates. Building a coalition of rightwing parties is expected to be fragile and could take weeks, extending the process to the longest in Danish history. Recent elections also showed increased support for rightwing parties, including a surge for the Danish People’s party.

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