Denmark faces political shift after PM fails to secure coalition

After weeks of negotiations, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has failed to form a new government, prompting King Frederik X to invite Liberal Party leader Troels Lund Poulsen to take over coalition talks, EURACTIV reports.

In a statement issued on Friday, the royal household said the King had asked Poulsen to begin negotiations at the request of several parties spanning the centre-right to the far right, including the liberals, moderates, conservatives and the Danish People’s Party.

Under the King’s mandate, Poulsen is now expected to explore the formation of a government that would exclude both the Social Democrats and the Moderates, pointing to a significant shift to the right in Denmark’s political landscape.

The development follows weeks of difficult coalition discussions after Denmark’s fragmented snap election in March, which resulted in 12 parties entering parliament, with only three securing more than 10% of the vote.

Speaking after a meeting with the King on Friday afternoon, Frederiksen acknowledged that the election outcome made a right-wing government a viable possibility, stating that the Danes had composed the parliament in such a way that such a coalition could indeed be formed.

In a social media post on Saturday, May 23, Frederiksen confirmed the end of her efforts, writing that “many weeks of negotiations for a new government ended yesterday” and adding: “Of course, I wish Troels all the best for his work in the future.”

Her setback comes after a significant political blow in the November 2025 municipal elections, when her party—traditionally Denmark’s largest—finished second and lost nearly half of the municipalities it had controlled, including the capital, Copenhagen.

By Tamilla Hasanova