Danish PM calls for talks to face risk of losing majority in parliament

Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen called on Wednesday for negotiations among ruling coalition partners after the Conservatives threatened to withdraw support in parliament due to a row over the agricultural minister.

Rasmussen told a press conference that he supported Food and Agriculture Minister Eva Kjer Hansen, who was accused by the Conservatives of releasing false information about the environmental impact of a series of planned agricultural reforms.

"I have a difficult time seeing that Eva Kjer Hansen gave false information as part of the agricultural package," Rasmussen was quoted by Danish newspaper "The Copenhagen Post" as saying.

The prime minister offered the negotiations as an olive branch to the Conservatives so as to prevent the ruling bloc from losing majority in parliament, as the Conservatives required Rasmussen to fire the minister or he will face losing their support.

Rasmussen's Venstre party, or the Liberals, came to power in June 2015 with 34 seats in the 179-seat parliament, backed by the Danish People's Party with 37 seats, the Liberal Alliance with 13 and the Conservatives with six.

If the Conservatives withdraw its support to the Liberals, Rasmussen will have to call a new election, which he said was a "bad option", adding that Denmark should now focus on the huge challenges of refugee crisis.

On Tuesday night, Rasmussen urged the leaders of the ruling "blue bloc" parties to hold a crisis meeting to see if the government still has a majority. Endi