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Denmark: 2026 election and new coalition government

On 24 March 2026 Denmark held a parliamentary election. On 3 June, the Danish king formally appointed a minority coalition government led by Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democrats. This is her third term serving as Prime Minister.

Ms Frederiksen had called the snap election on 26 February 2026, several months earlier than the 31 October deadline required under Danish law. At the time she had a considerable lead in opinion polls which was attributed to her strong position in the face of US President Donald Trump’s calls to annex Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory. Ms Frederiksen had led a centrist coalition involving her centre-left Social Democrats, the centre-right Liberal Party, and the centrist Moderates, since 2022.

Election campaign

Although Greenland dominated the news at the beginning of the election campaign, reporting suggests domestic matters were the key issues for voters.

Immigration, the cost of living, a proposed wealth tax and an increase to the pension age came to define the election campaign, and there was particular focus on legislative proposals to expel foreign criminals.

Election results

The Social Democrats gained the most votes in the election, translating to 38 seats of the 175 available for ‘metropolitan Denmark’ in the Folketing, Denmark’s parliament. Despite winning the most votes and the most seats in parliament, this was the party’s weakest election result since 1903. In the previous election, in 2022, the Social Democrats won 50 years.

The Green Left came second with 20 seats and Denmark’s leading right-wing party, Venstre, finished third with 18 seats.

Coalition negotiations and a government formed

After three rounds of coalition negotiations, Frederiksen announced on 1 June that she had managed to form a minority coalition government, with the Socialist People’s Party, the centre-left Radikale Venstre and the centrist Moderates joining her Social Democrats in power. These four parties in the new coalition hold 82 of the 179 seats in parliament.