Danish election could pave the way for a centrist government

By JAN M. OLSEN
Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s general election this week could change the political landscape with new parties hoping to enter parliament and others either losing influence or leaving the assembly altogether. A former prime minister who left his party to create a new one could end up as kingmaker. The center-left and the center-right are neck-and-neck in opinion polls before Tuesday’s election and neither is likely to capture a majority. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the vote when an ally of her minority Social Democratic government threatened to topple her over the government’s handling of the 2020 decision to wipe out Denmark’s entire captive mink population because of the pandemic.