Denmark’s right-wing defence minister to lead government formation talks

The king of Denmark has asked Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen to explore the formation of a potential centre-right government following the breakdown of negotiations among centre-left parties, the royal palace said on Friday.

Denmark’s March election for parliament resulted in a fragmented assembly of 12 parties, with Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen leading negotiations since then, hoping to secure a third term in office.

But Frederiksen’s talks with likely partners reached a stalemate in recent weeks, slowing down government decision making amid efforts to resolve a crisis in ties with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration over Greenland.

On Friday, Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his centrist Moderate Party ended talks with Frederiksen and proposed that the task of leading the negotiations should be given to Lund Poulsen, who heads the right-wing Liberal Party.

If Lund Poulsen succeeds in finding sufficient support from right-wing and centrist groups, he could become prime minister. If he fails, the task of leading the talks will pass back to Frederiksen or to one of the other party leaders.

Frederiksen’s Social Democrats, in power since 2019, won 38 seats in the 179-seat parliament, down from 50 in 2022, making it their worst election result since 1903.

(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, Soren Jeppesen and Louise Rasmussen. Editing by Terje Solsvik)