Denmark forms new minority government as Greenland dispute with US continues

Denmark has formed a new centre-left minority government under Mette Frederiksen, ending more than two months of political deadlock after the March general election. The breakthrough was announced in Copenhagen on Monday after prolonged negotiations involving 12 parties. The new cabinet is set to take office while tensions with the United States over Greenland remain unresolved.

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Frederiksen said she had been to see the king and announced that a government could be formed after long talks. The agreement gives her a third consecutive term as prime minister. It follows a failed attempt by the centre-right Liberals to assemble a rival administration, which cleared the way for the final deal.

The March 24 election left Denmark with a fractured parliament and no clear majority. Frederiksen's Social Democratic Party fell from 50 seats to 38 in the 179-seat legislature, its lowest finish since 1903. The result came after voters expressed frustration over a prolonged cost-of-living crisis, according to the supplied material.

The new government will therefore begin its term with a weak parliamentary position and limited room for manoeuvre. The timing matters because the cabinet takes power amid a foreign policy crisis involving Greenland, a self-governed Danish territory. The dispute has intensified after threats from US President Donald Trump to annex the island, which Frederiksen has firmly rejected.

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She has said any US takeover would signal the end of NATO, underlining how far the issue has escalated beyond a bilateral disagreement. Greenland is central to the wider strategic standoff because of its defence installations, mineral resources and the future of the US Pituffik Space Base in the northwest of the territory. The issue now sits alongside Denmark's broader security concerns in Europe, including the need to strengthen military capabilities in response to Russia's war in Ukraine.

The supplied material says Denmark has already increased defence spending to more than 3% of gross domestic product under Frederiksen's stewardship. What remains unclear is how the new minority government will manage the Greenland dispute while also dealing with domestic political weakness. The immediate questions are whether Frederiksen can maintain parliamentary support and whether Washington will alter its position on the territory.

The next phase will be watched closely in Copenhagen, Nuuk and Washington as the new cabinet begins work.

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