Denmark PM Mette Frederiksen who took on Trump over Greenland eyes 3rd term in key election today

Denmark will vote today in a snap election, with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen tipped to win as she is seen as an iron lady for weathering the storm created by US President Donald Trump after he suggested taking over Greenland.

Recent opinion polls credit the left-wing bloc with a slight lead over the right, but neither was seen garnering a majority in the 179-seat parliament.

"The future composition of the (coalition) government is very uncertain, but it is likely that we will end up with (Frederiksen) as head of government," said Elisabet Svane, political analyst at Danish newspaper Politiken.

Why does Frederiksen have good odds?

Opinion polls show Frederiksen well ahead of her opponents. Her ability to fend off Trump from making Greenland one of his own has made her a likely choice among voters.

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Frederiksen, a Social Democrat who has been in office since 2019, has been praised for her leadership after fending off Trump's repeated demands to annex Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory he claims the United States needs for national security reasons.

The row over the vast Arctic island has, however, not been central in the campaign, which has focused more on such issues as the cost of living, immigration and the environment.

What are some other issues?

In mainland Denmark, Greenland drew little attention during the campaign.

“Greenland is part of Denmark and we need to take care of it, but it’s not something I think about when I go to vote,” said 21-year-old voter Clemens Duval Thomsen.

In the affluent country of six million people, the campaign has instead centred on domestic concerns such as inflation, the welfare state and high nitrate levels in agricultural water.

In a country where the far right has heavily influenced policy since the late 1990s, immigration has also been a hot topic, with the Social Democrats advocating even tighter regulations.

The far-right Danish People's Party, which slumped in the 2022 election but has seen an upswing in opinion polls, is meanwhile in favour of ending permanent residence permits.

Frederiksen has also defended as "fair" a proposal to deny non-essential health care to people of foreign origin who threaten medical personnel.

With inputs from agencies