Mette Frederiksen announces Denmark will hold snap election on March 24 – POLITICO

Frederiksen directly referenced Copenhagen’s ongoing tensions with Washington in her speech in parliament, and said her now-caretaker government would remain vigilant in the lead-up to the March vote.

“Even though there is now an election campaign in Denmark, the world out there is not waiting,” she said. “As everyone knows, the conflict over Greenland is not over yet. The government will of course continue to look after Denmark’s interests.”

In an interview later Thursday with DR, Frederiksen said it was a responsible decision to call for elections now, despite the pressure from Trump’s escalations over Greenland. “You could also put it this way: Trump should not decide over Greenland, and he should not decide when there are elections in Denmark either.”

Though Frederiksen wouldn’t answer whether she would stay as leader of Social Democrats if she loses the elections, she admitted: “I have no plans to stay here for many years. I simply don’t.”

The governing Social Democrats suffered a dramatic defeat in December’s nationwide municipal elections, but the party has seen its poll ratings jump thanks to Frederiksen’s impassioned defense of Denmark’s sovereignty. According to the latest voter surveys, the prime minister’s party could net 22 percent of the vote, nearly doubling the share that her closest competitors, the Green Left, are projected to secure.

Frederiksen currently governs in coalition with the centrist Liberals and Moderates, but many of her party’s progressive supporters have called for greater collaboration with left-wing groups. In the domestic arena, the governing Social Democrats have been criticized for their lackluster response to a growing housing crisis and a perceived rightward turn.