Danish PM Frederiksen resigns after lackluster election for Social Democrats, Moderates seek to wield power

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has submitted her resignation after her party suffered their worst electoral performance in over a century, but a swift return to office is not out of the question.

The Social Democrats’ left-wing bloc walked away as the ostensible winners of the Tuesday general election with 84 seats in the nation’s 179-seat parliament. But it was far from a majority, with their rival right-wing bloc securing 77 seats and the centrist Moderate Party walking away with 14.

The fractured parliament will now need to bridge partisan divides to form a government.

“The Danes have spoken. They have given us a playing field that, to put it mildly, is a bit tricky to handle when it comes to forming a government,” Frederiksen said of the results on Wednesday.

Chairwoman of the Social Democrats Mette Frederiksen leaves after party leaders debate the day after the parliamentary election at