Copenhagen: Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen today called early national elections on November 13 in a move expected to benefit his center-right government. Recent polls show Fogh Rasmsussen s two-party coalition has a solid lead over the main opposition Social Democrats. Analysts had speculated the prime minister would announce early elections to take advantage of the lead.
"Parliament work has been marred by election rumours for months. That can harm the political work," Fogh Rasmussen told lawmakers as he announced the vote. "We re asking voters to renew and extend the mandate" of the government, he said. Fogh Rasmussen leads a Liberal-Conservative coalition that has been in power since November 2001. It has tightened Denmark's immigration laws and supported the US in Iraq, although it withdrew Danish ground troops in August.
Analysts said the center-right government could benefit from an early election because it has had strong support in recent opinion polls, while backing for the opposition Social Democrats has slumped. "An election now would come at the worst possible time for the Social Democrats," political commentator Peter Mogensen said. The Social Democrats have been hovering around 25 per cent in recent surveys, while the government parties together have about 35 per cent support. The minority government is backed in Parliament by the nationalist Danish People s Party. Under Denmark's Constitution, a sitting prime minister can call elections any time during the government's four-year term. The government's present term expires in February 2009.
