Danish rightwing leader asked to form government after Frederiksen fails to form coalition

Denmark king asks Troeld Lund Poulsen to form government after PM struggles to gather support

The king of Denmark has asked a centre-right politician to try to form a new government after a month-long effort by the prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, has failed to put together a ruling coalition.

The announcement on Friday night shook the political establishment as Frederiksen has been a staple of Danish politics for decades. Her left-leaning party, the Social Democrats, won the plurality of votes in parliamentary elections in March.