Man in custody after fake Copenhagen rental scam, Mette Frederiksen to lead negotiations to form government and MPs who did not get re-elected are eligible for 785,000 kroner a year for up to two years.
Mette Frederiksen nominated to lead negotiations to form a government
Mette Frederiksen, outgoing prime minister and leader of the Social Democrats, has been nominated by the king to lead negotiations to form Denmark’s next government.
She received nominations from the Social Democrats, the Green Left (SF), the Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten), the Social Liberal Party (De Radikale) and Alternative, who make up all of the parties in the left-wing ‘red’ bloc. Together they have 84 seats, six short of the 90 needed for a majority.
Frederiksen plans to form a government with SF and the Social Liberals, with the support of the entire left wing bloc and the non-aligned centrist Moderates, according to a statement posted on the Danish Royal House’s website yesterday. Denmark’s system works on the basis of a ‘negative majority’, meaning that a government can be formed if the majority of parliament is not against it.
The Moderates, who hold a crucial 14 seats and therefore have a kingmaker role, have so far refused to take part in a government based on support from the Red-Green Alliance or the far-right Danish People’s Party.
Danish vocabulary: udpeget ‒ literally ‘pointed out’, but more accurately translated as ‘nominated’.
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Far-left party willing to work with centrists
The leftist Danish party Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten) said on Wednesday that it would be prepared to attempt to find a way to work with the centrist Moderate party so that a government can be formed.
Its leader, Pelle Dragsted, said he will “try” to work with the Moderates, led by Lars Løkke Rasmussen, after the election delivered a fragmented parliament.
Dragsted told news wire Ritzau he hopes an agreement can be found between all of the parties in the left and the Moderates, who prefer to work with parties from both sides of the political middle ground.
The process will not be easy, Dragsted said, whose party sits furthest to the left in the Danish parliament. Løkke, when leader of his former party the Liberals, led right-wing governments from 2009-2011 and 2015-2019.
“As Lars Løkke Rasmussen says, there’s a long way from the Red Green Alliance to the Moderates,” Dragsted said.
“But we think it’s our duty to try. Otherwise we risk sending power over to [far-right party leader] Morten Messerschmidt with all the consequences that would have for our international relations and environmental ambitions,” he said.
Danish vocabulary: prøve ‒ try
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MPs who failed to get re-elected eligible for up to two years of pay
Current MPs who failed to get re-elected in Tuesday’s election and who will therefore be leaving parliament are eligible for between six months and two years of compensation pay, according to news wire Ritzau.
The length of the time they are entitled to a salary is dependent on how long they have served in parliament. After one year they have the right to six months, growing by six months per each year served to a maximum of two years for people who have served a full four years. In 2026, one year of compensation pay for a Danish MP comes to 785,000 kroner or about 65,400 kroner a month.
Ministers who fail to get re-elected are eligible for compensation pay for a maximum of three years if they have served for six years or more, with ministerial pay ranging from 1.5 million kroner a year to 1.7 million kroner a year. A prime minister who fails to be re-elected is eligible for 1.9 million kronor per year. Any potential salary or pension income higher than 170,572 kroner is subtracted from the compensation pay figure for the first year.
Newly-elected ministers and MPs will receive slightly less compensation pay once they leave parliament, as the rules changed in 2025, with the maximum length awarded dropping to 12 months for both groups and the abolition of the rule allowing them to earn 170,572 kroner in the first year without it being subtracted from their compensation pay.
Danish vocabulary: eftervederlag ‒ compensation pay
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25-year-old remanded in custody after fake Copenhagen rental scam
A 25-year-old man was remanded in custody on Wednesday on multiple counts of fraud or attempted fraud after offering to rent out apartments in Copenhagen 11 times without having any intention of actually making the apartment available to the potential tenants.
He confessed at a hearing on Wednesday, the Ritzau news wire reports.
According to the charges he received more than 600,000 kroner from people who thought they were renting a real apartment.
In three of the 11 cases, the potential tenant did not transfer any money. He also admitted to a twelfth charge, offering to help a woman with her tax returns. She paid 4,100 kronor for his assistance, which she never received.
He was remanded in custody for a preliminary period of 27 days as the judge deemed there was a risk he would commit further similar crimes or influence the investigation if he was allowed to go free.
Danish vocabulary: falsk udlejer ‒ fake landlord