2nd LD Writethru: Danish parliamentary election set for June 18

Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt on Wednesday announced the parliamentary elections are set for June 18.

"The choice is clear. The time is right. Now it is up to the Danes... The election for parliament will be held on June 18," Thorning-Schmidt told at a press conference.

The Danish people must answer two main questions at the next general election, the prime minister said.

"Firstly, how do we ensure that Denmark continues the progress and prosperity without putting our welfare and community at risk. Secondly, who should be the prime minister of Denmark," she said.

The election call comes after the Danish government on Tuesday presented a 39-billion-Danish-krone (5.68-billion-U.S.-dollar) welfare package and introduced the publication of the government's latest economic survey, which showed the Danish economy was recovering.

Thorning-Schmidt said Denmark still needs reforms and must continue to invest in welfare, while the opposition pledged to freeze public sector growth.

"With Margrethe Vestager's farewell to Danish politics, Thorning-Schmidt now stands out more clearly as the head of government," said Jesper Thobo-Carlsen, political editor at Danish newspaper Politiken, noting that the Social Democrats have had Thorning-Schmidt's team at the center of their campaign.

Vestager, who served as a Member of Parliament since 2001 representing the Danish Social Liberal Party, was nominated by Thorning-Schmidt as Denmark's EU Commissioner in the Juncker Commission.

Although Thorning-Schmidt has seen her personal popularity rise steadily, the latest Megafon poll showed that the opposition parties, led by former Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen, stood to receive 52 percent of the vote, while the governing coalition trailed with 48 percent.

"Wealth must be created by the companies. Therefore, we must bend every effort to invest in our jobs in Denmark," said Rasmussen, leader of opposition party Venstre, at a press conference after the election call.

"We also need to spend money to reduce the tax on the lowest incomes, so it pays to work," Rasmussen said.

Political analysts believed immigration policies, the size of the public sector, health and unemployment benefits were expected to dominate the upcoming election campaigns.

The last general election in Denmark was held in 2011, when the center-left "red bloc" alliance led by Social Democratic Party chairwoman Thorning-Schmidt won 92 of 179 seats in the Danish parliament. Endit