Løkke’s surprise critique on election night

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (M) delivered an unexpected reprimand to his government on the night of the European Parliament election without prior notice to Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S) or Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen (V). Lars Løkke expressed at the Folkemødet festival, where he was interviewed instead of delivering his leader’s speech, that the election result served as a ‘warning’ to the government. He urged the government to reflect collectively on revitalizing their political efforts to stay relevant. Despite believing the SVM government has done ‘really, really well’, he acknowledged the trio of ruling parties’ failure to adequately communicate their successes. Following a disappointing election result where SVM-parties obtained 36.2% of the votes compared to 50.9% at the parliamentary elections, Løkke emphasized the need for the parties to collectively ‘own’ their political achievements, rejecting the idea of calling an immediate election as seen in France by President Emmanuel Macron.