Danish PM admits nation wants new faces

Danish prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said yesterday he was confident he could pull off a come-from-behind victory in Denmark’s general election but admitted voters were in the mood for a change.

Danes vote today with Rasmussen’s Liberal-Conservative coalition showing the strain of a decade in power.

The economy has been the major issue of the campaign, with Mr Rasmussen’s centre-right “Blue Bloc” coming under fire for not turning it around.

He faces an opposition “Red Bloc” led by Helle Thorning-Schmidt – the daughter-in-law of former UK Labour leader Neil Kinnock – that is pushing the unusual plan of making everyone work 12 minutes more per day.

That extra hour of productivity each week – along with increased government spending – would kick-start growth, according to Ms Thorning-Schmidt’s grouping.

The race was tightening in the last day of campaigning, although the opposition was still ahead. A Gallup poll published yesterday showed the prime minister cutting the opposition’s lead to 2.3 percentage points.

“I realise that we have been in government for ten years and some people for that reason could perhaps want new people, new faces,” said Mr Rasmussen..