Denmark’s Center-Left Coalition Wins Election Majority in Parliament

· Denmark’s center-left coalition wins a majority in Parliament, after a snap vote that was triggered by anger over a mink cull.

An unpredictable race ultimately gave the governing Social Democratic Party its best showing in two decades, though analysts said it looked set to form a more centrist government.

Denmark’s center-left coalition emerged with a majority of parliamentary seats early Wednesday, after a tight overnight count in an unpredictable general election gave the governing Social Democratic Party its best showing in two decades.

The center-left coalition’s election triumph was tempered by the fact that it has only a one-seat majority in Parliament, and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen expressed a desire to work with parties across the political spectrum.

The prime minister, who called early elections after anger from other lawmakers over a mink cull during the coronavirus pandemic, vowed to form a broader government than the most recent one, where the Social Democrats sat in power alone but leaned on the backing of allies.

But her reputation was battered in a fiasco rooted in a government order to cull the country’s mink population over coronavirus fears. A parliamentary commission later found that the move was illegal at the time and said officials mislead the public. Pressure from the Social Liberals, a crucial government ally, led her to call the election.