Facing off with the incumbent Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, the right and far-right opposition are mainly lining up behind two candidates to form the next government after the November 1 election.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is fighting to remain in power in a legislative election that could crown an outsider. The liberal Jakob Ellemann-Jensen and the conservative Soren Pape Poulsen are in the race to take her place, but a third man could also end up being a key player: the centrist and former Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, reported The Local dk.
In a political landscape split between 14 parties, polls suggest that neither of the two main blocs can garner a 90-seat majority in the 179-seat Folketing, the Danish parliament. The left-wing “red bloc,” led by Frederiksen’s Social Democrats, is polling at 49.1%, representing 85 seats, compared to 40.9% or 72 seats for the “blue” bloc of right-wing parties, reported France24.
The new party occupying the political centre is the Moderates, founded by former Liberal Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen. According to polls, his party will receive 10% of the vote, or 18 seats, a fivefold increase from September polls, which gave the Moderates around 2%, much to the surprise of political analysts, according to The Local dk.
Rasmussen, who boasts solid political experience, has refused to pledge support for either bloc ahead of the election. The moderates want to reform healthcare and pensions. In their efforts to attract the often less loyal centrist electorate, Frederiksen’s Social Democrats have announced that they want to govern across the traditional political dividing lines. They too have floated the Moderates’ idea of a coalition government gathered in the centre, added The Local dk.
Led by two other prime minister candidates—conservative Soren Pape Poulsen and liberal Jakob Ellemann-Jensen—have not extended the same hand.
Without a clear majority, there may have to be long negotiations before a government is formed after the election, which could ultimately favour Lokke Rasmussen, reported France24.
The Social Democrats, the largest party in the country’s political force, are trying to “play the card that they are the right party during uncertain times,” according to Rune Stubager, a professor of political science at Aarhus University.
Their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic was largely hailed, despite a stumble when they ordered an emergency cull of the country’s huge mink herd over fears of a mutated strand of the novel coronavirus. They are proposing a carbon tax on agriculture and a pay rise in the public sector. At the same time, their allies have campaigned mainly on protecting biodiversity and providing support for children and the vulnerable.