Early vote

Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen on Friday called an early general election after weeks of rumors and calls for the date to be brought forward.

Rasmussen, whose leads a minority government consisting of his Liberal Party and Conservatives, told reporters he had informed head of state Queen Margrethe of the decision.

The announcement of the September 15 poll paves the way for an election campaign in which the economy is expected to take center stage.

"The Liberal Party and the Conservatives go into the election to get a renewed mandate to secure and maintain healthy public finances in a world marked by turmoil and debt crises," Rasmussen told a news conference.

A general election had been due for November 12, but Rasmussen exercised his right to call an earlier election with just three-weeks' notice.

Discussions hit brakes

Rasmussen called the election after reaching an impasse with the Danish People's Party (DF), a party he has often relied on to pass legislation.

Talks on a 1.5-billion-euro ($2.1 billion) economic growth package between the government and the DF broke down on Friday.

Opinion polls show Rasmussen's coalition will face a difficult electoral test against the left-wing Social Democrat-led opposition.

An average of four recent opinion polls shows the opposition "Red bloc" would win 53 percent of the vote against 47.6 percent for Rasmussen's "Blue bloc."

Rasmussen has been prime minister since April 2009, when he replaced current NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The last general election in Denmark was held in November 2007.

Author: Richard Connor (AP, dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Martin Kuebler