Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Thursday that she had scheduled this year’s general election for March 24, against a backdrop of tensions with both the United States and Russia.
The vote comes at a time when Denmark’s relationship with the United States — which Copenhagen considers its closest ally — has been strained over US President Donald Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland.
“Dear Danes, today I have asked His Majesty the King to call an election for the Folketing,” Denmark’s parliament, Frederiksen told the house.
“Whether I will continue to be your prime minister depends on how strong a mandate you give the Social Democrats in the parliamentary election to be held on March 24, 2026,” she added.
Under the Danish system, Frederiksen had to call an election within four years of the last, which was held on November 1, 2022.
Frederiksen took the opportunity to present the outlines of her election platform, which included a reform of the retirement age and the introduction of a wealth tax.
She also stressed that Denmark must continue to rearm and help protect Europe from Russia, as Europe grapples with the new geopolitical realities in the wake of Trump’s return to the White House.
“Security policy is and will remain the very foundation of Danish politics for many, many years to come,” Frederiksen said.
Copenhagen is among Ukraine’s most ardent military and civilian backers.
The Nordic country would also need to face “threats from the west and the risk of terror from the south”, Frederiksen said.
“We must stand united in Europe,” she insisted.
Over the next four years, Denmark will also have to “stand on our own feet”, she declared, adding that relations with Washington would have to be redefined.
Denmark and Greenland are currently holding talks with the United States about the future of Greenland, an autonomous Arctic territory which Trump has argued is crucial for US “national security”.
Earlier threats he made to seize the island, by force if necessary, have ebbed since he struck a “framework” deal with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to ensure greater US influence.
Copenhagen has nevertheless insisted that only Greenland and Denmark can make decisions on the island’s fate.
In the wake of the dispute, NATO launched a mission, dubbed Arctic Sentry, to strengthen its presence in the Arctic.
“Even though there is now an election campaign in Denmark, the world out there is not waiting for us. Its unrest continues unabated and, as everyone knows, for example the dispute over Greenland is not over yet,” Frederiksen said.
Frederiksen, who hails from a long-standing Social Democratic family, became Denmark’s youngest-ever head of government when she was elected in 2019, aged 41
The daughter of a typesetter and a childcare assistant won re-election in 2022 by forming a coalition government across the aisle with centre-right parties.
While Frederiksen’s popularity has been boosted by the recent diplomatic tensions over Greenland, her Social Democrats suffered setbacks in both the European and local elections last year.
The party lost nearly half of the municipalities under its control, including the capital, Copenhagen, ending more than a century of Social Democrat rule.
According to a poll published last week by broadcaster TV2, 21 percent of voters intended to vote for the Social Democrats.
While the party would remain Denmark’s largest if true, that would represent a 6.5-percent drop on its 2022 general election haul.
Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, who leads government coalition partner the Moderates, told reporters that “if it were up to us, we would have waited a bit” on calling the election.
“We had not planned for there to be elections, but now there are, and of course we are ready,” he said.
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