Nov. 1 () –
Former Prime Minister Lokke Rasmussen, who may hold the key to governability in the next new Government of Denmark, has been satisfied with the first projections after the exit polls, which do not contemplate majorities.
The projected results of the general elections called in advance rule out majorities in the conservative and left blocs, so the current Social Democratic Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, can only secure a new four-year term through Rasmussen, who has not said who will support.
“If forecasts hold close, then this new little match at the Folketing will come in a way that will make a difference,” Rasmussen was quoted as saying by the Jyllands Posten newspaper.
The exit polls published by the DR and TV2 stations have given the so-called “red” bloc, made up of the main political formations that made up the previous Executive, between 85 and 86 seats, close to the absolute majority set at 90 parliamentarians.
By contrast, the ‘blue bloc’ would be between 72 and 73 seats, weighed down by the fall of the Danish People’s Party. Previous polls ensured that this party would fall by around six percent, while Venstre would also suffer a setback, which from 21.1 percent in the previous elections would now be around 12 percent of the vote.
If these projections are confirmed, the result could make Rasmussen, a former center-right prime minister defeated by Frederiksen in 2019, the key to forming a government, with 17 deputies projected for his new centrist party, the Moderates, maintaining the balance of power.
The general elections are held in advance after the Social Liberal Party – the Social Democrats’ governing partner – forced the prime minister to advance the vote in exchange for not presenting a motion of censure.
The economic management of the country at a convulsive moment for the whole of the old continent due to the war in Ukraine, added to a report contrary to the Executive’s management of the mink crisis, sacrificed by a mutation of the coronavirus, were the main arguments for pressure from government partners.
Thus, Frederiksen finally agreed at the beginning of October to call general elections for this Tuesday, eight months before the current legislature technically expires in which, after the 2019 elections, the Social Democrats reached the government with the support not only of the Social Party Liberal, but also from the Green Left and the leftist Red-Green Alliance.
