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Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is the biggest force this country has seen in decades. The crisis in Greenland has energized her, but are voters itching for change?
March 23, 2026, 12:01 a.m. ET
Flemming Frederiksen, a retired typesetter and union leader, remembers coming home from work years ago, exhausted and ready for a break, only to find his daughter standing on the front steps of their red-roofed cottage with her arms crossed.
“I have four questions for you today,” the middle-schooler announced.
“Can I first just get inside, take off my jacket and have a slice of rye bread and cheese?” he asked.
She peppered him with inquiries on politics. She pressed him to sign petitions to stop animal testing and save the whales. Only grudgingly did she accept compromises, he said.
That little girl is now running for her third term as prime minister of Denmark in an election set for Tuesday.
When asked if he could have predicted this back then, Mr. Frederiksen smiled and said, “I don’t want to sound like a smartass, but I’m not surprised.”
Mette Frederiksen, Denmark’s leader, has become the biggest political force this little country has seen in decades. When she took office in 2019, she etched herself into Danish history by becoming the youngest prime minister. Now 48, if she wins and serves out her term, she will be the longest-serving Danish premier since World War II.
