Danes head to polls as PM faces close call

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen may need a new coalition partner in order to defend his post in today’s (13 November) parliamentary elections.

Rasmussen and his liberal ‘Venstre’ party are heading for a neck-and-neck race with his main contender Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the Social Democrat leader, in today’s snap election, called by the prime minister last month.

“This election is very close. You can’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched,” Rasmussen told Danish TV on 12 November.

Indeed, the latest polls predict a close call between the Liberals and their traditional allies, the far-right Danish People’s Party on the one hand, and the centre-left opposition parties on the other. A new party, the centre-right New Alliance, is expected to assume the role of kingmaker for Rasmussen, who was first elected in 2001 and is trying to secure a third term in office.

The welfare state and the economy were the focus of the election campaign, with the prime minister praising robust economic growth, a balanced budget, and the fact that unemployment is at an all-time low. However, his female contender Thorning-Schmidt warned that tax cuts proposed by the Rasmussen government would come at the expense of the welfare system.

The Danish welfare system is financed by a high-tax regime, with income tax rates ranging from 40%-65% and VAT at 25%. In 2006, the economy grew by 3.5% and unemployment was at 4.5%.

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