Denmark will elect a new parliament this autumn. After weeks of speculation, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced today outside her official residence in Marienborg, north of Copenhagen, that the next election will take place on 1 November. In doing so, she finally gave in to a demand by the left-liberal party Radikale Venstre.
APA/AFP/Ritzau Scanpix/Liselotte Sabroe
In Denmark, elections must be held every four years – in which case Frederiksen would have until June 4, 2023. Radikale Venstre, who supports Frederiksen’s minority government made up of all Social Democrats, gave the prime minister an ultimatum in summer: until parliament opens after summer break on Tuesday, the prime minister should have called the election. Otherwise, the party wanted to force a vote of no confidence.
The backdrop to the ultimatum is Frederiksen’s role in the Danish mink scandal, in which millions of minks were killed during the pandemic. Only later did it become apparent that the legal basis for this was lacking. In a report, an independent commission harshly criticized the prime minister and parts of his government, who made the decision to mass cull mink bred for fur due to concerns about the CoV.