The former Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and his new party the Moderates looked like they would be the victors in the Danish general election for a long time, but when the last votes were counted late on election night, everything changed.
With 87 seats in Denmark plus three red expected North Atlantic seats in the Faroe Islands and Greenland, the red bloc reaches the required 90 seats.
“Going for a broad government”
However, it is unclear what this means for government formation. The Social Democrats and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen have said during the election campaign that they are looking for a government across the bloc border.
They stick to that even when the preliminary election results are clear.
– We are going for a broad government over the middle. We extend our hand and hope that the blue (parties) are ready to accept it, says Finance Minister Nicolai Wammen (S).
Bourgeois parties such as Venstre and Conservative People’s Party have previously rejected the idea of forming part of a government with the Social Democrats.
“Does not indicate a will”
– I believe that actions speak more clearly than words. And the action we have seen in the last three years does not indicate a willingness to absorb Venstre’s politics, says Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, Venstre’s party leader, before giving his speech at the election vigil.
The Faroe Islands already held their election on Monday and the two candidates who were elected have pointed to their respective blocs. In Greenland, the two mandates in the last six elections have gone to the red bloc, but a result from the Greenlandic election is not expected until around 05:00. The polling stations there did not close until midnight, Swedish time.