Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's Social Democrats have emerged as the strongest party in Denmark's general election on Tuesday, but are heading for a historically poor result.
The Social Democrats looked set to get 21.9% of the vote and 38 seats, down from 27.6% in 2022, after all votes cast in the country were counted.
The parliament in Copenhagen has 179 seats, of which 175 are allocated in Denmark and two each in Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Greenlandic votes were not set to be counted until Wednesday morning.
It was initially unclear whether Frederiksen would return to power for a third term since her party and other left-leaning parties got a combined 84 seats, short of the 90 seats needed for a majority in the Danish parliament.
Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen's centrist Moderates, with 14 seats, will likely become the kingmaker, as was the case after the previous election in 2022. In total, the centre-right bloc was also short of a majority with 77 seats.
The Green Left party, which had campaigned for smaller class sizes and greater action on climate change, was set to become the second-largest force with 20 seats.
Frederiksen has so far governed with the centre-right Venstre and the Moderates. She had not decided in advance whether she would once again seek a government of the centre or an alliance with the left-wing parties after the election.
According to the news agency Ritzau, her Social Democrats achieved their worst result in the parliamentary elections since 1903.
Frederiksen's challenger, centre-right Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen, of the Venstre party, was still campaigning on election night for a conservative government with the support of Rasmussen's party.
A key point of contention in any potential negotiations between the Social Democrats and left-wing groups is likely to be the tough immigration policy that has become a hallmark of Frederiksen's time in office.
On the far right, the Danish People's Party recovered from a poor result in 2022 to seal 9.1% of the vote and 16 seats.
Around 4.3 million Danes were eligible to vote.
Frederiksen is seeking a third term after a row with Washington over the future of Greenland thrust her into the international spotlight.
The vote comes amid months of heightened tensions over US President Donald Trump's push to take control of the semi-autonomous Arctic island.
Frederiksen's firm rejection of Trump's bid boosted her approval ratings, helping to stabilize her government after a period of declining support.
Seeking to capitalize on that momentum, Frederiksen called a snap election last month. She sought to present herself as a reliable crisis manager.
