Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Rasmussen celebrates a record third term

Denmark
14/11 14:32 CET
Rasmussen celebrates a record third term
Denmark's liberal/rightwing coalition is preparing for another five years in government, after edging over the winning line in the tightest vote in years. Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen saw his early-election gamble succeed, to the delight of his supporters. "This is an historic victory," he said. Because for the first time the Liberal Party has won three elections on the trot, and is also the biggest party for a third successive parliament."It means little change in parliament with the governing coalition presenting much the same line-up. Rasmussen's Liberals won 46 seats, down six from last time, while his Conservative partners won 18, and the far-Right Danish People's Party 25. Rasmussen needed another allied party in the Faeroe Islands to win a seat, to secure his victory.Rasmussen's main opponent, Helle Thorning-Schmidt's Social Democrats are the second-biggest party, her group falling six seats short of a majority. She said she was proud of the campaign, but admitted it was not quite good enough. The party leaders made their traditional post-election round table appearence to discuss the results. The pro-immigration New Alliance Party of Syrian-born Naser Khader has also indicated it will support the Prime Minister
Source: Euronews