Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has announced the country will hold an early election next month.
It comes as the country continues a standoff with the US over President Donald Trump’s designs on Greenland, with Ms Frederiksen seeking to capitalise on a surge in support for her defiant stance.
“I have recommended to King Frederik that elections be held on March 24,” Ms Frederiksen told the Danish parliament in Copenhagen on Thursday. The country was due to go to the polls no later than the end of October.
The Folketing, or parliament, has 179 seats – 175 of which are allocated to lawmakers representing Denmark and two apiece to lawmakers from Greenland and the Faroe Islands, its two semi-autonomous territories.
Ms Frederiksen, 48, has spent recent months discussing with European leaders ways to counter the US president’s renewed interest in annexing the Arctic island.
Opinion polls suggest this has provided a much-needed popularity boost for the Danish prime minister after public dissatisfaction over rising living costs and welfare pressures.
“This will be a decisive election, because it will be in the next four years that we as Danes and as Europeans will really have to stand on our own feet,” Ms Frederiksen said.
“We need to define our relationship with the United States, and we must rearm to ensure peace on our continent.”
She added: “As everyone knows, the conflict over Greenland is not over yet. The government will of course continue to look after Denmark’s interests.”
Mr Trump’s push to annex Greenland resulted in his short-lived threat last month to impose new tariffs on Denmark and several other European nations.
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The US, Denmark and Greenland subsequently held discussions on an Arctic security deal, though Ms Frederiksen and other Danish and Greenlandic officials have refused to negotiate on sovereignty.
After the negotiations, the US leader said he had “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland”.
A general election must be held at least every four years in Denmark – but the prime minister can call one at any point.
The last election of the NATO and European Union member country was held on 1 November, 2022, and resulted in a three-party coalition staggering the left-right divide.
Ms Frederiksen, a centre-left Social Democrat, has held office since mid-2019.
She currently heads a government with the Liberal Party of Defence Minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, and the centrist Moderate party of Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, a former PM.
The Social Democrats suffered a significant setback in the 2025 municipal elections, losing the Copenhagen mayoralty for the first time in 87 years.
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However, although the party’s support fell to 18% in polls in December, it has since rebounded to 22%, the highest of any party, as Ms Frederiksen’s approval ratings were boosted by her handling of the Greenland dispute.
Discussing the Greenland crisis earlier this month, Ms Frederiksen said she remains wary, though the situation has calmed.
The standoff has further raised Ms Frederiksen’s profile on the international stage, where she gained attention for her swift response to the COVID-19 pandemic and for bolstering European support for Ukraine.
