Frederiksen agrees on new center-left coalition in Denmark

Minority government needs external partners

The new government will be a minority government, which is not unusual in Denmark. The four coalition parties together have 82 seats – 90 seats would be needed for a majority in parliament. The government is therefore reliant on the support of other parties, such as the left-wing party Enhedslisten, which has eleven seats.

Enhedslisten announced on Facebook that there would be "big news for Denmark tomorrow." The party's future role remained unclear for the time being.

Two failed attempts

The path to the new coalition was rocky. After the election, Frederiksen initially negotiated unsuccessfully with various parties for weeks. A first attempt at government formation failed because Moderaterne withdrew.

Following this, the right-liberal Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen from the Venstre party received the mandate for coalition negotiations. This attempt also remained unsuccessful. A little over a week ago, the mandate finally returned to Frederiksen.

A key role in the negotiations was played by former Prime Minister and outgoing Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen with his centrist party Moderaterne. Rasmussen spoke with both political blocs and let the talks collapse twice before an agreement with the center-left camp was finally reached.

Third term for Frederiksen

Although Frederiksen's Social Democrats emerged as the strongest force in the election, they achieved their worst result since 1903. The election did not produce a clear majority bloc, necessitating lengthy consultations.

This will be Mette Frederiksen's third term as head of government. She first took office in 2019 and was reappointed Prime Minister after the 2022 election. On Tuesday, she intends to present a government program, and on Wednesday, the new ministers are to be presented to the King.