Frederiksen’s Social Democrats win Danish election but probably no majority

People vote at a polling station at City Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, during the general election
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AP Photo/Sergei Grits
Copyright AP Photo/Sergei Grits
By Andreas Rogal & Emma De Ruiter
Published on 24/03/2026 - 12:16 GMT+1•Updated
22:52
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Danes have voted in a snap election where Mette Frederiksen aimed at a third term, with exit polls confirming her party as the winner but with a historically low result
Her coalition's majority is doubtful.

Danish voters went to the polls on Tuesday in a snap parliamentary election called by social democrat Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who is seeking a third term in the wake of a crisis sparked by US President Donald Trump's push to take control of Greenland.

Two exit polls, conducted by Danish public broadcaster DR and private broadcast channel TV2 after polling stations closed at 20:00 CET, predicted that her current coalition will take between 83 and 86 seats in the 179-seat parliament
It remains to be seen whether this election will result in a repeat.

The four overseas seats held by Denmark's two semi-autonomous territories, two for Greenland and two for the Faroe Islands, could tip the balance, seeing that the election result is very close.

Rasmussen rules himself out as premier but offers formation role
On the eve of the election Rasmussen insisted that he wasn’t interested in the top job this time round, but put himself forward to be the “royal investigator”, leading the negotiations for finding a new majority across the middle of the political spectrum.

Frederiksen, a Social Democrat who has been in office since 2019, has been praised for her leadership after standing her ground against Trump's repeated demands to annex Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark Trump claims the US needs for national security reasons.

Frederiksen is known for strong support of Ukraine in its defence against Russia’s all-out invasion and for a restrictive approach to migration.

Greenland, which took up much of the government’s energy in recent months, has not been a significant issue in the campaign because there is broad agreement on its place in the kingdom.

In the wealthy nation of some 6 million people, the campaign has instead focused on domestic issues, including inflation, the welfare state, and high nitrate levels in agricultural water.

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