Danish king re-appoints caretaker PM to form government

COPENHAGEN: The king of Denmark re-appointed outgoing prime minister Mette Frederiksen to lead talks to form a government on Saturday after two failed rounds of coalition talks following inconclusive elections in March.

“Parties representing a majority in the Folketing have recommended that acting prime minister Mette Frederiksen be appointed to lead negotiations on the formation of a government,” the palace said in a statement.

On Friday, the head of the liberal Venstre party, Troels Lund Poulsen, announced attempts to form a right-wing government had failed, as the Moderates were unable to support the minority coalition.

He had replaced Frederiksen on May 8, who was initially tasked with forming a government.

Frederiksen has been asked by King Frederik X to investigate the possibility of a government with the participation of, among others, the Socialist People’s Party and social liberal Radikale Venstre, the palace said.

Denmark’s talks to form a government have been going on for a record-long period of more than 59 days, according to Danish media.

“We’ll start tomorrow and in the days that follow,” Frederiksen told reporters after meeting with the king, according to the Danish broadcaster DR.

Neither the left nor the right bloc won a majority in the March 24 election that left parliament deeply splintered.

Frederiksen’s Social Democrats registered their weakest score since 1903 but remained the biggest party by far.

The traditional far-right party, the Danish People’s Party, which has heavily influenced policy since the late 1990s but slumped in the 2022 election, more than tripled its result to 9.1% of votes.

The three anti-immigration groups together garnered 17%, a stable figure for Denmark’s populist right over the past two decades.

المصدر: Free Malaysia Today