Danish prime minister calls Nov 1 parliament election

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Wednesday called a general election to be held on Nov 1 as recent opinion polls suggest the outcome of the vote is too close to call, reports Reuters.

"We want a broad government with parties on both sides of the political centre line," the prime minister said in a speech.

Frederiksen, 44, became Denmark's youngest-ever prime minister in 2019 after promising to improve welfare services that had been eroded by liberal economic reforms since the beginning of the century.

Recent opinion polls show a near dead heat between Frederiksen's Social Democratic minority government and left-wing parties supporting it, and a right-wing bloc led by the either the Conservative or the Liberal party.

Many political analysts had expected Frederiksen to make the announcement on Wednesday to preempt a vote of no confidence in her administration by one of her allies.

Denmark is currently the focal point of a global political crisis after two pipelines carrying gas from Russia to Europe via the Baltic Sea last week suffered damage in what world leaders have called an act of sabotage.