Denmark's Frederiksen Loses Mandate; Liberal Leader Gets New Shot

More than six weeks after Denmark's general election, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has lost her mandate to form a new government. Late Friday, the Danish royal palace announced that King Frederik X has instead tasked Troels Lund Poulsen, leader of the right-leaning Liberal Party Venstre, with attempting to build a coalition.

Frederiksen had previously recommended that the king hold another round of what are known as "royal consultations." During these sessions, all parliamentary parties meet with the monarch and state whom they wish to see lead coalition talks.

Following the first round of consultations with the king after the late-March general election, Frederiksen was given a mandate to try to form a government that included the Socialist People's Party and the left-leaning Liberals. That effort, however, failed to make headway.

During her negotiations, Frederiksen also spoke with her former coalition partners: the right-leaning Liberals and the Moderates, a centrist party led by former Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen.

After the second round of talks with the king on Friday evening, it is now Poulsen's turn. He will attempt to form a coalition, likely looking toward the conservative wing of the center-right bloc for support.