Denmark has elected a record number of women to its parliament in the recent general election, with 44 per cent of elected lawmakers now women.
It’s the highest number of women ever elected to the Danish parliament and is up 5 per cent from the previous election in 2019.
The Nordic country’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen was re-elected, securing a majority. The official election figures have not yet been published by Statistics Denmark, with an extra count underway after a close vote.
“I am so thrilled and proud. We have gotten the best election result in 20 years,” Frederiksen said when the results came in.
“Thanks to all Danes who have trusted us with your vote. It’s a huge vote of confidence. I know some of you have had doubts along the way.”
Denmark’s centre-left, five party “red bloc” secured the most votes in the election, with Frederiksen’s Social Democrats party receiving the most votes it has in two decades. Frederiksen campaigned on forming a broader coalition across the political divide in the name of unity. Her goal might prove problematic, as many of her now elected left-wing allies would prefer power to be distributed among the left.
“We must get through uncertain times together,” she said. “The Social Democrats went to the polls to form a broad government. If a majority of parties point to me as prime minister I will see whether it can be done. That is what is good for Denmark.”
Mette Frederiksen has been the prime minister of Denmark since 2019, and was largely praised for her government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. This election was brought on by the country’s “mink crisis”, which began after the government culled 15 million minks in November 2020 in response to fears of a mutated strain of the coronavirus. The cull turned out to be illegal, eventually forcing Frederiksen to call an election to avoid a vote of no confidence.