Election in Denmark

Analysis: Everyone else is dancing around Løkke ahead of the election

With three days left until the election in Denmark, it looks like Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen will become the kingmaker in the middle. This is what Bent Winther writes in an analysis in Berlingske.

The path to power lies through the party leader of the Moderates, who is positioning himself between the red and blue blocs. Everyone seems to realize this and other party leaders are “dancing” around him in the final spurt of the election campaign with their statements, Winther writes.

Winther believes that a center-right government will be difficult to achieve and that Løkke himself would navigate his way to the post of prime minister is unlikely. He assesses that the most likely outcome is “a solution that smells a bit like a center-right government”.

At the same time, Social Democratic Party leader Mette Frederiksen is fighting for a third term as prime minister, writes Elisabet Svane in an analysis in Politiken. For the Social Democrats, the election is largely about trust in her leadership. There is a rare hatred for Frederiksen in Denmark, but also an unusually high level of trust.

“She is both the Social Democrats’ strongest and weakest card,” Svane summarizes.

The election in Denmark — it’s all about the matter

• At the end of February, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called a general election for March 24.
• Opinion polls have shown that the left-wing bloc had an advantage, but that the Moderates could become the wave master.
• The issue of wealth tax has become central to the election debate, with the Social Democrats’ proposal to tax wealth over 25 million Danish kroner.
• The Danish security police PET has warned that Russia is likely to carry out influence campaigns ahead of the election. According to an analysis, the USA is also mentioned as a possible influence threat.
• The four mandates from Greenland and the Faroe Islands were considered to be crucial for the formation of a government after the election.