Danish political deadlock continues as parties clash over coalition options

Political uncertainty in Denmark continues as party leaders exchanged criticism over possible coalition arrangements ahead of a new round of government negotiations, local media reported on Saturday.

The Danish royal house appointed Troels Lund Poulsen, leader of the Liberal Party (Venstre) and defense minister, as the country's new coalition negotiator after his party finished second in the election, the Danish broadcaster DR reported.

Poulsen announced that talks involving all parliamentary parties and North Atlantic representatives would begin Monday morning as efforts to form a new government enter a new phase.

"It is obviously an extremely difficult task that we have now begun," Poulsen said on the US social media platform Facebook, adding that he believed parties could still reach a common platform through compromise.

The negotiations come after weeks of political deadlock following the election and after Moderates party leader and Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen backed Poulsen to lead coalition-building efforts.

However, several parties questioned whether a viable center-right coalition could be formed without the participation of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's Social Democrats or Lokke's Moderates.

The chairman of the Danish People's Party, Morten Messerschmidt, rejected the idea of governing alongside the Moderates, saying the parties had fundamentally opposing political visions.

"A lot of what the blue parties want for Denmark is in opposition to what the Moderates want. It is like oil and water," he wrote on Facebook.

Messerschmidt also said he remained open to supporting a minority government if it resulted in Frederiksen leaving office as prime minister.

Meanwhile, The Alternative's political leader Franciska Rosenkilde criticized Rasmussen's decision to shift support toward Poulsen after previous negotiations with left-leaning parties.

"If and hopefully when it turns out that Troels Lund Poulsen cannot form a government, we are ready to resume the ambitious negotiations we have had with Mette Frederiksen and the other parties," she said during her party's congress in Vejle.

Denmark has now spent 45 days without a new government since the election.

Kaynak: AA_ING