Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen calls general election for November 1

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Wednesday called a general election for Tuesday v. 1, seven months ahe of end of her term in office.

Frederiksen, who has heed Social Democratic mirity government since June 2019, has seen her popularity dwindle in recent weeks due to her role in a pandemic-era decision to wipe out Denmark’s entire captive mink population.

Polls show that center-left bloc is neck-and-neck with center-right opposition, which includes parties that want to reduce immigration.

In June, a Danish Parliament-appointed commission harshly criticized Frederiksen's government for its decision to cull millions of healthy mink at height of coronavirus pandemic to protect humans from a mutation of virus.

election will select members of 179-seat Folketing, or Parliament.

“We want a bro government with parties on both sides of political middle,” Frederiksen said as she anunced elections. She mitted that “it is, of course, peculiar to have a general election in middle of an international crisis.”

Frederiksen has recently been speaking openly about governing with some of parties that are part of center-right opposition.

She became Denmark’s youngest prime minister when she took office at 41 in 2019. She reached out to or political parties, including opposition, to help steer Scandinavian country through COVID-19 pandemic and later teamed up with opposition to hike Danish defense spending in wake of March 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia. She also is a staunch supporter of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

After report on mink culling was published, one of government’s center-left allies, Social Liberal Party, stood up against Frederiksen and criticized her for her handling of mink issue.

Frederiksen has insisted that she didn’t kw culling decision was unlawful, saying it was “based on a very serious risk assessment.” A law was passed shortly after to make it legal.

Im: AP