Denmark braces for lengthy and challenging coalition talks

Denmark is braced for lengthy and challenging coalition talks after neither Mette Frederiksen’s leftwing bloc nor the rightwing parties managed to get a majority in Tuesday’s election.

After a bruising night for her Social Democrat party, which despite remaining the biggest party in the Danish parliament had its worst general election since 1903, the prime minister went to Amalienborg palace on Wednesday morning to submit her government’s resignation to the king.

Later in the day, parties will start arriving at the palace in order of size, starting with the largest, the Social Democrats, to tell the king who they think should have the role of “royal investigator” – whose task it will be to try to form a government.

Speaking at a debate of the 12 party leaders in Copenhagen on Wednesday, Frederiksen said voters had handed leaders a “troublesome” party situation but that a “government must be formed”.

She added: “The world is not waiting for us out there, and it has only become even more restless than when the election was called.”

Frederiksen said she would start exploring the possibility of forming a left-leaning government with the support of Lars Løkke Rasmussen’s centre-right Moderates. But first, she said, the parties must appoint a royal investigator.

The failure of the left-leaning “red bloc” and right-leaning “blue bloc”, which won 84 seats and 77 seats respectively, to get a majority in the 179-seat parliament left the Moderates, with 14 seats, in a potentially powerful position to play a key role in forming a new coalition, putting committed centrist Rasmussen in the position of kingmaker.

In his election night speech he appealed to Frederiksen and Troels Lund Poulsen, the leader of Denmark’s Liberal party, with whom he has been in coalition for more than three years, to “come down from the trees” and join him in the centre ground.

“What is clear – with all conceivable reservations – I think is that there is no red majority to the left of us, and there is no black-blue majority to the right of us,” he said to cheers.

Rasmussen, who was defence minister in the last government, has twice been prime minister and is often seen smoking a pipe, said before the election that he did not want to be prime minister but would like to be appointed royal investigator – although this role is usually held by the person who goes on to lead the government.

Frederiksen addressed her party at the Social Democrat’s party at Christiansborg in the early hours of the morning, saying the results were not as good as she had hoped but that they were “OK”.

“We reach out for responsibility – even when it comes at a price. I am still prepared to take on the job as Denmark’s prime minister. There is just no indication that it will be easy,” she said.

Poulsen said he was still a candidate for prime minister and ruled out forming a coalition with the Social Democrats. He told supporters: “We need a new government. And that’s also why I’m happy that Venstre [Denmark’s liberal party] has become the largest blue party.”

The party leaders were due to debate one another on Wednesday morning at an event organised by the Danish Publicist Club.

Coalition negotiations are expected to take weeks.

The royal palace released a statement which said the king had received the prime minister and representatives of the political parties would be asked to meet at the palace from 1pm Danish time.

“After explaining the election results and the parliamentary situation, the prime minister submitted the government’s resignation and advised that representatives of the political parties that have been elected to the Folketing should now be given the opportunity to speak about the upcoming government formation,” it said.