Reuters/CCTV. Denmark's Social Democrats, led by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, remained the largest party in Tuesday's parliamentary election, according to preliminary results from Denmark proper early Wednesday.
But neither the left-leaning red bloc nor the right-leaning blue bloc secured an outright majority in the Folketing, the unicameral Danish parliament.
The Folketing comprises 179 seats in total -- 175 elected in Denmark proper, plus two each from Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Results from Greenland and the Faroe Islands are yet to be finalized.
"Of course, I am disappointed that we did not get more votes. But there is nothing today that can stop me from being proud that the Social Democrats have once again become the Danes’ clearly preferred political party," said Frederiksen.
Preliminary results from Denmark proper showed that the Social Democrats won about 21.9 percent of the vote and 38 seats, down by 12 from the previous election. The Socialist People's Party secured 20 seats, followed by Venstre (the Liberal Party of Denmark) with 18 seats. Liberal Alliance and the Danish People's Party each took 16 seats.
Based on the tally for Denmark proper, the red bloc secured 84 seats, compared with 77 for the blue bloc. Since a majority in the Folketing requires 90 seats, the Moderates, which won 14 seats, were expected to play a pivotal role in the coming negotiations on government formation.
Morten Messerschmidt, the leader of the Danish People's Party, said he feels great to see more voters supporting his party in this election.
"The last election three years ago, we were almost eradicated with only two percent of the votes, and now we are between nine and ten. So it's like a quadrupling or whatever you call it. So that's quite remarkable, quite amazing. It feels great, I must say," he said.
Speaking after the vote, Frederiksen signaled that she was prepared to take responsibility in the upcoming negotiations and continue seeking to lead the country, while acknowledging that talks to form a new government were unlikely to be easy.
Under Denmark's multi-party parliamentary system, elections often lead to coalition or minority governments. Talks among party leaders will determine the formation of the new government.
