Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen secured a third term on Monday after agreeing a centre left minority coalition, returning to power as Denmark spars with President Donald Trump over Greenland.
The deal ends more than two months of deadlock following a fractured March election. “A government can be formed after long negotiations,” Frederiksen said after meeting King Frederik X.
Her bloc lost its majority in the 24 March vote as voters punished it over the rising cost of living. The Social Democrats stayed the largest party but slid to 38 of the 179 seats, down from 50, their weakest showing in over a century.
After weeks in which both the Social Democrats and the right wing Liberals tried to lead the next government, Frederiksen, 48, prevailed. Her coalition pairs the Social Democrats with the Socialist People’s Party, the Social Liberals and the centrist Moderates, leaning on the far left Red-Green Alliance for a majority.
Frederiksen said the government’s programme would be unveiled on Tuesday and ministers named on Wednesday. Top of the agenda are diplomacy over Greenland, which Trump has threatened to annex, and a rapid military buildup as Europe’s security worsens amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The new lineup marks a clear shift left for Frederiksen, who spent the past four years atop an unusual coalition spanning the left and right. The campaign centred on the cost of living and on animal welfare, with the polluting pork industry a flashpoint. She framed the platform as one for people in Denmark, future generations and the country’s animals.
