COPENHAGEN, May 8 (Reuters) – Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s bid to form a new government coalition broke down on Friday when a key partner abandoned the talks, jeopardising her ambition of securing a third consecutive term in office after the March election.
The prime minister’s centre-left coalition talks reached a stalemate in recent weeks, slowing down government decision making amid efforts to resolve a crisis in ties with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration over Greenland.
Denmark’s King Frederik must now hand the task of exploring government options to one of the 11 other party leaders. He could also reappoint Frederiksen, now or later, for a second attempt at forming a cabinet.
The king will meet with Frederiksen at 1530 GMT on Friday, the palace said in a short statement.
Moderate Party leader Lars Lokke Rasmussen on Friday ended talks with Frederiksen and proposed that the task of leading the negotiations should be given to Troels Lund Poulsen of the Liberal Party, who could seek to form a centre-right government.
Frederiksen’s Social Democrats, in power since 2019, won 38 seats in the 179-seat parliament, down from 50 in 2022, making it their worst election result since 1903.
(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, Soren Jeppesen and Louise Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik)
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