AFP, Copenhagen

Denmark’s Social Democrats, led by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, finished first in Tuesday’s general election but posted their weakest showing in more than 120 years and the left-wing bloc failed to secure a majority.

With all votes counted in metropolitan Denmark, the left bloc was credited with 84 seats in the 179-seat parliament and the right with 77, while 90 are needed for a majority.

The centrist Moderate party, headed by Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, became kingmaker with 14 seats, and thorny negotiations are expected in the coming weeks to build a coalition government.

Frederiksen, who has been in office since 2019, told cheering supporters that she was “ready to take on the responsibility of serving as Denmark’s prime minister again for the next four years”.