Danish Social Democrats lose ground in local polls on cost-of-living, welfare concerns

By Soren Jeppesen and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Denmark's ruling Social Democratic Party suffered big losses in municipal elections, official results showed on Wednesday, less than a year before a national vote, amid public discontent with the cost of living and eroding welfare services.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's SDP, long the dominant force in Danish politics and the architect of its cradle-to-grave welfare state, retained its position as the largest party with 23% of votes, down from 28% in the last municipal election.

But it lost mayoral seats in at least a quarter of constituencies, most strikingly in Copenhagen after an unbroken 87-year tenure, exposing the party's increased vulnerability ahead of a national election due by October 31, 2026.

"This is undoubtedly a protest vote and a personal defeat for Mette Frederiksen," said political commentator Henrik Qvortrup. "The days of the Social Democrats as the big unifying party covering both urban and rural areas are coming to an end."

BOTH URBAN AND RURAL VOTERS ABANDONING SDP 

Urban voters, driven by rising costs of housing and elderly care and a perceived decline in the quality of welfare services, gravitated towards parties to the left of the SDP, while rural voters, often angry over increased environmental regulations and a proliferation of wind and solar parks, shifted to right-wing populist parties such as the Danish People's Party.

"Many voters in rural areas simply don't buy into the climate agenda," said Qvortrup.

Sisse Marie Welling of the Socialist People's Party won the Copenhagen lord mayoralty after winning backing from most other parties, excluding the Social Democrats.

Frederiksen, Denmark's youngest prime minister when elected in 2019, gained international attention for her staunch support of Ukraine.

But her 2022 decision to form a centrist coalition with the centre-right Liberal Party and Moderates fractured party unity, alienating some traditional Social Democratic voters. The coalition partners also performed poorly in Tuesday's elections.

The government has also faced a backlash for scrapping a public holiday to boost defence spending, which resonated poorly with voters wrestling with rising living costs.

"There has been a clear movement away from the centre, both to the left and the right," said Andreas Thyrring, a partner at Ulveman & Borsting public affairs advisory firm.

Recent polling suggests the three-party ruling coalition would lose its parliamentary majority if an election were held today.

"I think this marks the beginning of a deeper crisis for the Social Democrats," Qvortrup said.

(Reporting by Soren Sirich Jeppesen and Jacob Gronholt-PedersenEditing by Gareth Jones)