Danes will cast their votes on Wednesday, June 5. Denmark is currently governed by a three-party coalition: Venstre, Liberal Alliance and the Conservative People’s Party. The coalition relies on support from the right-wing Danish People’s Party (DPP). But it looks like an upset it on its way.
What are polls showing?
A poll this weekend predicted the centre-left party, the Social Democrats, will be the country’s largest with about 27 percent of the vote.
The poll also showed the “red bloc” of left-leaning parties it leads is on course for more than 55 percent.
The outgoing centre-right government of the prime minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, is forecast to finish on about 18 percent.
Meanwhile, support for the far-right Danish People’s party predicted to collapse to barely 11 percent.
The results are a sign of the success of policies tacking left on welfare and right on immigration.
President Rasmussen’s Liberal party and the Social Democrats have both backed widely criticised measures on immigration.
The parties argue the measures are needed to protect Denmark’s welfare system and to integrate migrants and refugees already in the country.
However, human rights campaigners believe the policies have led to a rise in racist abuse and discrimination.
Discrimination cases are up and the number of racially or religiously motivated hate crimes registered by Danish police surged to 365 in 2017 from 228 the year before.
Mattias Tesfaye, immigration spokesman for the Social Democrats, and the son of an immigrant himself, said immigration is a threat to Denmark’s social cohesion and generous welfare state.
Mr Tesfaye told the Financial Times: “If only the far-right is talking about the problems, then it is only the far-right where people will be looking for solutions.
“If I were a liberal rightwinger or in an Anglo-Saxon [country] then open borders would not be a problem.
“But for a Scandinavian welfare state, immigration has to be controlled.”
The Social Democrats have hinted that they would govern in a single-party minority government.
This would require seeking support from the likes of the DPP on immigration while others on the leftwing for economic issues.