Eurosceptic Danish People’s Party surge in general election

Beskrivelse

Denmark's anti-immigration Danish People's Party (DPP) becomes second largest party in what could be boost for David Cameron's bid for EU renegotiations.

The eurosceptic Danish People’s Party could become the largest party in a new right-wing government in a shock result that brings David Cameron a powerful new ally in his bid for EU renegotiations.

The anti-immigrant party took 21.1 percent of the votes, jumping past their Liberal allies to become Denmark’s second biggest party.

With 99 percent of votes counted, Denmark's national broadcasters DR and TV2 projected opposition leader Lars Loekke Rasmussen's bloc would get more than the 90 seats needed to secure a majority in the 179-seat legislature.

Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the prime minister and her Left-wing allies had taken just 85.

The result has left Danes wondering if Liberal leader Mr Rasmussen can still become the country’s next prime minister, given that his party has shed more than seven percent of its vote.

"It is completely unreal," said Kristian Thulesen Dahl, the Danish People’s Party (DPP) leader, as he congratulated his party, but he gave no hints even on whether his party wanted to join a ruling Right-wing coalition let alone lead it.

“We need to be where the political influence is greatest, and it is not about automatically in the government,” he said earlier in the evening as the scale of his party’s victory gradually became apparent.

“It’s an astonishing result,” said Ian Manners, a British politics professor at the University of Copenhagen.

“The interesting question is what this means for the construction of a government and the coalition discussions between the Danish People’s Party and the Liberals.”

He said that now even the unthinkable, that the DPP could lead Denmark's next government, was under discussion.

“Nothing is impossible,” he said. “That depends on the willingness of the other right-wing parties to support a Danish People’s Party mandate.”

On the morning of the poll Mr Rasmussen told The Telegraph that if he led Denmark’s new government, it would be “very supportive” of Mr Cameron’s EU reform plans but that he would not back the treaty amendments many in Europe see as necessary to bring Britain what it wants, no matter how powerful the Danish People’s Party.

“That won’t happen,” he said. "And I don't think it's necessary."