The aftermath of the elections - Special Edition
Last Week in Denmark (16.11-23.11) Episode 41 Year 5
🗳️ Record-long queues as more people voted this year. Several polling stations in Aarhus and Copenhagen stayed open past 20:00 because hundreds were still waiting in line, with some queues lasting nearly an hour. Turnout rose to 69.2%, higher than in 2021, surprising researchers who expected a drop. Experts say wider media coverage and local efforts helped bring in people who rarely vote, with many deciding to show up at the very last minute.
Overall results across Denmark for the local and regional elections (relative to 2021 elections)
Government parties: Socialdemokratiet (Social Democrats) 23.2% (-5.2%); Venstre (Liberals) 17.9% (-3.3%); Moderaterne (Social Liberals) 1.3% (new party)
Left-wing (Red) parties: SF (Green Left) 11.1% (+3.5%); Enhedslisten (Red Green Alliance) 7.1% (-0.3%); Radikale Venstre (Social Liberals) 5.4% (-0.2%); Alternativet (Greens) 1.1% (+0.4%)
Right-wing (Blue) parties: Konservative (Conservatives) 12.7% (-2.6%); DF (Nationalist Conservative) 5.9% (+1.8%); Liberal Alliance (Libertarian Conservative) 5.5% (+4.1%); DD (Nationalist Populist) 4.7% (new party)
🟥 Socialdemokratiet suffers a historic collapse. The party fell to 23.2%, its worst municipal result in modern times, losing long-held strongholds like Copenhagen, Frederikshavn, Gladsaxe, Næstved and Køge. Analysts say the defeat hurts especially because the decline is nationwide, hitting both big cities and rural areas. Despite keeping the mayoral seats in Aarhus, Aalborg, and Odense, the result has triggered deep internal questions about the party’s direction and its connection to voters across the country.
🔵 Venstre loses votes but wins the power game. With just 17.9% of votes, their weakest result in 36 years, Venstre should have been licking their wounds. Instead, Troels Lund Poulsen is celebrating a “historically good” election after the party expanded its mayor count from 34 to 40. Strong negotiation skills helped Venstre capture mayor positions in former Social Democratic strongholds like Frederikshavn, Næstved, and Køge, making them the country’s largest mayor party despite a national setback.
🟢 Conservatives defy the odds with a strong election night. Despite losing 2.6% nationally and failing to win back Frederiksberg, Konservative walked away with 16 mayor posts, two more than before. Mona Juul’s ambitious target of keeping 14 mayorships was not just met but surpassed, helped by eye-catching victories on Læsø, Samsø, and Langeland. Analysts say the result is a clear win for a party that feared a much tougher night.
🌱 SF celebrates a breakthrough by taking Copenhagen. The party jumped 3.5% nationwide to 11.1% and secured five mayor seats; with the biggest victory in the capital, where Sisse Marie Welling becomes lord mayor after more than a century of Social Democratic rule. Analysts say Pia Olsen Dyhr has every reason to be pleased, as SF managed to join broad coalitions in key cities. Copenhagen, Randers, and Gladsaxe stand out, where SF captured the mayor posts directly from Socialdemokratiet.
💜 Radikale Venstre holds steady and sets a new local record. With 5.4% of the vote, the party slips just 0.2% compared to 2021 but keeps its mayor seat on Fanø. The real highlight is the number of elected councilors: 98 in total, the highest since the municipal reform and even more than in 2021. Analysts call it a clear status quo result, while party leader Martin Lidegaard says he is “absolutely” satisfied with the outcome.
🟠 Moderaterne face a bruising debut with just 1.3% of the vote. Their first municipal election turned into what analysts call a “catastrophic” result, landing near the national polling floor and far from any real breakthrough. Much of the setback comes from voters rejecting the many party-switchers who have joined Moderaterne since 2022. Almost all of them lost their seats, leaving the party with only six councilors nationwide and no representation in the major cities.
💚 Alternativet makes only a tiny ripple. The party edges up by 0.5% to 1.1%, but analysts say the result shows they still struggle to gain real footholds in local politics. Even in Copenhagen, their strongest territory, a small increase wasn’t enough to secure a mayor post. Despite modest growth, Alternativet remains far from breaking through in the country’s municipalities.
🟣 DD break through with a powerful debut. Inger Støjberg’s party storms into councils in more than half the country’s municipalities and scores its first mayor post in Ringkøbing Skjern, where Mads Fuglede now leads Denmark’s largest municipality by area. Along the West Coast, the party saw some of its strongest results, and on Lolland they even had to hand over an extra seat to the Conservatives after winning more mandates than they had candidates. Analysts call it an impressive first local election showing.
🟦 Liberal Alliance celebrates massive local gains. The party jumps from just 9 to 122 council seats across the country, one of the night’s biggest leaps. LA also secures the mayor posts in Faxe and Solrød. Analysts say Alex Vanopslagh and his team have every reason to be pleased, as LA cements itself as a growing force in local politics.
💛 DF moves forward but without mayor posts. The party gained 1.8% and reached 5.9% nationwide, bringing some of its national momentum into the local elections. Analysts say DF can be satisfied with the growth, even though it did not translate into mayorships. The surge seen in national polls for Morten Messerschmidt doesn’t fully carry over to the municipal level, but DF still strengthens its local footprint across several councils.
❤️🔥 Enhedslisten wins big in votes but falls short of the top job. Nationally the party lands at 7.1% and essentially repeats its 2021 result, but the real story is in Copenhagen. With 22.1%, Enhedslisten becomes the capital’s largest party again, yet Line Barfod still loses the race for lord mayor. Despite reaching for the mayor chain, she couldn’t gather enough support, and SF’s Sisse Marie Welling emerged as the compromise candidate acceptable to the blue (right-wing) parties.
TOP local politicians based on the number of personal votes
1. Anders Winnerskjold (Socialdemokratiet, Mayor of Aarhus) 38,064 votes;
2. Sisse Marie Welling (SF, Lord Mayor of Copenhagen) 20,924 votes;
3. Line Barfod (Enhedslisten, Mayor of Copenhagen) 18,574 votes;
4. Peter Rahbæk Juel (Socialdemokratiet, Mayor of Odense) 16,208 votes;
5. Lasse Frimand Jensen (Socialdemokratiet, Mayor of Aalborg) 15,943 votes;
6. Christina Krzyrosiak Hansen (Socialdemokratiet, Mayor of Holbæk) 15,785 votes; (Polish origins)
Local Stories
🟣 Gladsaxe makes history as Serdal Benli becomes Denmark’s first elected minority-ethnic mayor. After more than 100 years of uninterrupted Socialdemokratiet rule, a broad alliance of parties chose SF’s Serdal Benli as the new mayor, leaving only Socialdemokratiet and DF outside the agreement. Benli, who grew up in the municipality and has served for years as vice mayor, says the majority simply chose a new direction and rejects accusations of a “coup,” calling it democracy in action.
💐 First Ukrainian elected to a Danish city council. Lesia Havryliuk from Vesthimmerland made history on election night, becoming the first Ukrainian to win a council seat in Denmark with 263 personal votes. She didn’t even know it when it happened, as she was sleeping when the results came in and only learned the news the next morning. Throughout the day neighbours stopped by with flowers and congratulations, and her phone had more than 150 messages celebrating her breakthrough.
🎉 Bornholm’s most persistent candidate finally wins a seat. After 36 years of trying, 85-year-old Tonny Borrinjaland from Dansk Folkeparti has at last been elected to the island’s council with 37 personal votes. Known for translating the Bible into Bornholmsk and campaigning for an independent Bornholm, he says the victory feels unreal and is eager to share his ideas. He will skip committee posts to avoid overloading himself but insists he still feels young and ready for the work.
🐖 Tønder re-elects a mayor who may lose his job in court. Jørgen Popp Petersen won big despite multiple police reports about poor animal welfare on his former pig farm. With five cases still under investigation, he could end up with a prison sentence. If that happens he must legally leave the council and the parties will renegotiate the mayor job from scratch. Local politicians admit the issue was part of election-night talks as they now wait up to six months for prosecutors to decide the next steps.
🧑💼 Two mayors keep the red flag flying. While Socialdemokratiet had a rough election night overall, Aarhus mayor Anders Winnerskjold and Holbæk mayor Christina Krzyrosiak Hansen turned into local vote magnets. Both won massive personal support by mixing TikTok-style campaigning, visible presence in daily life and a more informal, “human” tone. Their success shows that in local politics it’s not only the party brand that matters, but trust, communication, and how close people feel to their mayor.
🏛️ Shock switch brings new mayor to Middelfart. After more than a century with a Socialdemokratiet mayor, the mayor chain unexpectedly moved to Venstre’s Anders Møllegård when a sitting Social Democrat crossed the floor on election night. The jump flipped the majority and left former mayor Johannes Lundsfryd stunned, with some voters calling it a betrayal. Møllegård promises a broad agreement and says Socialdemokratiet will be invited back to talks once the dust settles.
Regional Stories
🌍 Local voices win big in the new megaregion. Voters across Bornholm, Lolland and Vestsjælland surprised the experts by electing a much stronger local representation than expected in the new Region Østdanmark. Bornholm secured three seats despite making up only a tiny share of the population, and Lolland Falster also sent several candidates to the table. Many voters chose local names because of doctor shortages and unequal access to healthcare, hoping the new region will finally listen to the areas that feel overlooked.
🏥 Radikale flips Region Midtjylland to the right. After a night of tense talks, Radikale Venstre broke with Socialdemokratiet and joined the blue parties to back Venstre’s Anders G Christensen as new regional president. The move came after years of scandals in the regional healthcare system, where Radikale say they were kept in the dark and want a new political culture with more transparency. Socialdemokratiet lost control despite having the most seats and was offered only minor posts in the new power structure.
International Community HQ
New reporting - original, long form reporting from our dedicated team!
After this week’s local and regional elections, new councils are being formed across the country, but what do the results mean for internationals here? Maja Christiansen Cawthra and Carly Spring take a closer look.
✍️ Maja Christiansen Cawthra, Carly Spring 👉Read the full story