Denmark’s center-right-led opposition won parliamentary elections on Thursday, denying the Social Democrat Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt a second term in office after a campaign dominated by the immigration issue. The opposition Liberal Party leader Lars Lokke Rasmussen, who promised tighter immigration rules and tougher demands on new arrivals in the country, looked set to be the Nordic state’s new leader. With all of the results counted, the opposition bloc had won 52.3% of the vote or 90 seats in the 179 seat parliament. Ms. Thorning-Schmidt and her allies had secured 47.7% support or 85 seats.
Results for the four seats from Denmark’s North Atlantic territories, Greenland and the Faeroe Islands, were still to come but couldn’t now be decisive, though it for a time looked like they might be.
… Ms. Thorning-Schmidt, Denmark’s first female prime minister, announced her resignation as party leader in a speech to supporters shortly after the final results were in.
The election’s big surprise was the stronger-than-expected showing of the populist, anti-immigration Danish People’s Party which won 21.1% of the vote making it the second biggest party after the Social Democrats who secured 26.3% support.
Full Article: Denmark’s Center-Right-Led Opposition Wins Parliamentary Elections – WSJ.