Copenhagen, Denmark
Reuters

Denmark’s King asked Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Social Democrats on Wednesday to explore the formation of a new government with two left-wing parties, kicking off what could be weeks of talks to build a working parliamentary majority.

Frederiksen earlier handed in her centrist coalition government’s resignation after a massive election defeat but she could still emerge as the leader of a new Danish government.


Mette Frederiksen, Denmark’s Prime Minister and Social Democrats party leader, and Pia Olsen Dyhr, Green Left party leader, attend the party leaders’ debate after parliamentary elections, in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 25th March, 2026. PICTURE: Reuters/Leonhard Foeger

Analysts say Tuesday’s election result marked a voter revolt over the outgoing government’s broken economic promises and a sign that the electorate has grown tired of Frederiksen as a leader after seven years in power.

Her Social Democratic Party suffered its worst election result since 1903, winning just 38 seats in the 179-seat parliament – down from 50 – but it remains the largest party in parliament.

Voters’ concerns over domestic issues such as the environment, the cost-of-living crisis and welfare outweighed any support Frederiksen garnered with her defiant stance towards US President Donald Trump’s repeated ambitions to acquire Denmark’s semi-autonomous territory of Greenland, analysts said.

“This loss was larger than you could explain just by the cost of ruling,” said Rune Stubager, a political scientist at Aarhus University.

GREENLAND INDEPENDENCE PARTY WINS SEAT IN DANISH PARLIAMENT AT KEY MOMENT

Greenland’s Naleraq party, which advocates swift independence from Denmark, won its first seat in the Danish general election, sending a critic of the Copenhagen-Nuuk union to parliament at one of the most crucial moments in the kingdom’s history.

The result, which comes amid heightened international interest in Greenland following US President Donald Trump’s attempt to control the Arctic island, saw Naleraq secure 24.6 per cent of Tuesday’s vote, a sharp increase from 12.2 per cent in the 2022 election.

“It is a very clear signal that the status quo is not acceptable,” Qarsoq Hoegh-Dam, who won Naleraq’s seat, told Reuters, pledging to work to ensure that Greenland is heard in all matters concerning it.

Trump’s ambitions have drawn sharp focus on the island of 57,000 people, exposing longstanding questions about the level of Danish investment in defence, infrastructure and economic development.

The outcome ensured representation for Naleraq in the 179-seat Danish parliament, where two seats are reserved for Greenland and two for the Faroe Islands.

While Greenland’s governing coalition, led by Demokraatit, advocates a pragmatic, long-term path toward independence with Denmark as a key partner, Naleraq is pushing for a swift separation, sharpening a divide that analysts say Washington could seek to make use of.

Hoegh-Dam, receiving the highest number of personal votes in Greenland, said he stood firm on his party’s opposition to military infrastructure in Greenlandic towns as he argued that defence installations in civilian areas could turn them into targets.

Arctic affairs commentator Martin Breum said that although Hoegh-Dam’s victory sent a signal that “Greenlanders continue to want changes in their cooperation with Denmark”, Naleraq’s pro-independence stance does not necessarily reflect the Greenlandic government’s official position.

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who took office last year, has sought to strengthen ties with Denmark in response to the crisis, saying in January he would choose Copenhagen over Washington.

The second Greenlandic seat was claimed by Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA), which became the largest party, with Greenland’s current Mineral Resources and Business Minister Naaja Nathanielsen set to occupy the position. She did not reply to requests for comment. 

Siumut, a major coalition party, recently withdrew from Greenland’s government, weakening its ability to present a united front against external pressures, but Breum said the close alliance between Greenland and Denmark during the US controversy remains unchanged despite the election result.

 – STINE JACOBSEN, Copenhagen, Denmark/Reuters

We rely on our readers to fund Sight’s work – become a financial supporter today!

Polarised electorate shifts towards margins
Stubager attributed the defeat to polarising economic decisions, such as the controversial scrapping of a public holiday, tax cuts for high earners, and a last-minute proposal to introduce a wealth tax, which failed to resonate with voters.

King Frederik X tasked Frederiksen with exploring a coalition of her Social Democrats with the Green Left, which won 20 seats, and the Social Liberal Party, which secured 10 seats.

But while other left-wing parties may support this constellation, Frederiksen would also need support from the centrist Moderates party or right-wing parties to form a working majority for her policies in parliament.

If she fails to build a new coalition, the king would have to invite another person to explore options for forming a new government.

The election reflected a broader trend of voters moving away from centrist parties. Right-wing nationalist parties increased their share of the vote to 17 per cent, from 14.4 per cent in 2022, while the Green Left Party also gained ground.

The anti-immigration Danish People’s Party also capitalised on concerns over inflation and living costs, promising to cut fuel taxes and staging campaign events offering discounted petrol to motorists, Stubager said.

While Frederiksen’s tough immigration policies remained broadly in line with public sentiment, the domestic economic agenda carried more weight in this election, analysts said.


Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen goes to the King to inform about the election result of the parliamentary election at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 25th March, 2026. PICTURE: Ritzau Scanpix/Martin Sylvest via Reuters

Neither bloc has a majority
Despite their losses, the Social Democrats remain Denmark’s biggest party with 21.9 per cent support, meaning Frederiksen is widely seen as having a good shot at returning for a third term as prime minister.

“That is the paradox of the election, that the huge loser, Mette Frederiksen, the Prime Minister, she is the favourite to become the next prime minister as well,” political analyst Noa Redington said.

In total, Frederiksen’s left-wing bloc secured 84 seats in parliament, slightly ahead of the right-leaning bloc’s 77 seats, leaving both sides short of the 90 seats required to form a majority government. The Moderates, led by Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, emerged as a potential kingmaker with 14 seats.

Frederiksen acknowledged the fractured electoral landscape during a Wednesday debate, saying the result excluded the possibility of forming a traditional right- or left-wing government.

“So what is left is that we need to cooperate. That is the message here,” she said.

Since 2022, Frederiksen has led a grand coalition of the Social Democrats, the right-of-centre Liberal Party and the Moderates. The leader of the Liberal Party, Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen, has said he is no longer interested in coalition rule with Frederiksen.

– With reporting by TOM LITTLE in Copenhagen; and ANNA RINGSTROM in Stockholm, Sweden