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Denmark's incoming PM set to form minority gov't

Xinhua, June 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

Denmark's incoming Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen was given a mandate on Monday to form a minority government after attempts to form a majority government failed over the weekend.

"I have got a broad mandate to form a government under my leadership," said Rasmussen after holding a second meeting with Queen Margrethe II on Monday to obtain an official directive to form a minority government.

Rasmussen had begun negotiations to form a majority government on Saturday, after the center-right coalition won last Thursday's parliamentary election.

However, the hope of a majority coalition was dashed as the four center-right parties disagreed on several key issues, especially on public sector spending.

"I honestly tried, but realized it was not possible," said Rasmussen.

Analysts here predict that Rasmussen's Liberal Party, known as Venstre in Danish, will either try to get the far-right Danish People's Party (DPP) to form a coalition government, or the Liberal Party will form a government on its own.

The latter scenario will put Rasmussen in a difficult situation, according to Tim Knudsen, a political science professor at University of Copenhagen.

"The government will be running tired and might also run into some setbacks, and there is no doubt that it will be very strenuous for Lars Loekke Rasmussen to be the prime minister in a pure Venstre government," Knusen said.

Thursday's election saw DPP overtake the Liberals as Denmark's largest center-right party in parliament with 21.1 percent of the vote and 37 seats, while the Liberals captured 19.5 percent of the vote and 34 seats, a 7.2-percent decline from the previous election in 2011.

Nevertheless, DPP is still pointing to Rasmussen as their prime ministerial candidate.

Negotiations with DPP continue to be tough as it has already announced four conditions that would need to be met for it to take part in a coalition government.

Despite both parties agreeing on tighter immigration rules, DPP wants an annual growth in the public sector of 0.8 percent, while the Liberals' plan to freeze public sector growth.

"Our wish is a minority government. We are entering such a government if the political basis is in order," said DPP leader Kristian Thulesen Dahl prior to visiting the Queen on Monday.

He emphasized spending more money on health and the elderly in particular. Meanwhile, extra money should be used on police and border control, he said.

"We have no interest in spending more money on bureaucracy," he added. Endit