Danes vote in knife-edge election

COPENHAGEN: Danes voted on Tuesday in a knife-edge election with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen fighting for political survival against the right and far-right in polls that could turn a moderate ex-premier into a kingmaker.

The election was triggered by the “mink crisis” that has embroiled Denmark since the government decided in November 2020 to cull the country´s roughly 15 million minks over fears of a mutated strain of the novel coronavirus.

The decision turned out to be illegal, however, and a party propping up Frederiksen´s minority Social Democrats government threatened to topple it unless she called elections to regain the confidence of voters.

After a campaign dominated by climate concerns, inflation and healthcare, almost a quarter of voters were still undecided heading into election day, according to polls. Grey skies covered the capital as voting took place with polling stations scheduled to close at 8:00 pm (1900 GMT) and the first results expected around 9:30 pm.

“Climate issues and psychiatry (mental health issues), but mostly climate, are the reasons behind my vote,” 46-year-old Lone Kiitgaard told AFP after casting her ballot in central Copenhagen, without disclosing who she voted for. The latest polls gave the left-wing “red bloc”, led by Frederiksen, 49.1 percent against 42.4 percent for the “blues”.