'Grand Coalition' Moves Into View As Social Dems, Venstre Hold Talks

A 'grand coalition' gov't involving PM Mette Frederiksen's centre-left Social Democrats and the main opposition centre-right Venstre (Liberals) is moving into view as talks continue between the two largest parties in parliament following the 1 November general election.

• DR reported Venstre leader Jakob Ellemann-Jensen saying on 28 November that, "We’ve spoken a lot about [the economy] so far. It’s a precondition for everything. And we will also talk about a ‘freedom reform’, meaning freeing citizens within our social welfare system. We will also speak about health reforms...Confidence is something you must build. We are working on that, so now I will go in and build confidence and have a discussion about the economy,”
• Last week, the far-left Red-Green Alliance and Alternative parties exited coalition negotiations, with Frederiksen seemingly more inclined towards a centrist gov't than a left wing administration that would hold an extremely narrow majority (all parties of the left combined would hold 90 of the 179 seats in the Folketing).
• Should talks with Venstre progress it could lead to the first gov't to involve the two parties since a short-lived administration in the late 1970s. Would need the support of the centrist Moderates of former PM Lars Lokke Rasmussen as well as smaller Faeroese or Greenlandic parties.