Helle Thorning-Schmidt, of Denmark's center-left opposition, will become Denmark's first female prime minister. The Associated Press reports that the incumbent Lars Loekke Rasmussen conceded defeat with nearly all the votes counted.
"There is no parliamentary support for our government. Tomorrow (Friday) I will go to the queen at 11 o'clock and inform her of the outcome of the election and present the government's resignation," Rasmussen told Danish TV.
The BBC reports that Rasmussen's political bloc has been in power for a decade. And like the United States, one of the main points of contention during the election has been Denmark's struggling economy:
Ms Thorning-Schmidt campaigned on a platform of tax rises and increased public spending, the BBC's Thomas Buch-Andersen in Copenhagen reports.
Although Mr Rasmussen is considered to have done well to steer Denmark through the financial crisis, its economic rebound is seen as sluggish and disappointing, our correspondent adds.
The economic crisis has turned Denmark's healthy surpluses into deficits, estimated to climb to 4.6% of GDP next year.
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