Before the election, opinion polls indicated that the Social Democrats would lose voters and that parties on the left – where the left-wing Unity Party looked set to become the largest – would be able to form their own majority.
Even though the parties to the left of the Social Democrats did not manage to form a majority of their own, it is now clear that the Socialist People's Party will take over the post of Lord Mayor of Copenhagen.
The party increased by 6.9 percentage points and received support from all parties except the Social Democrats and Frie Grønne on the far left.
"We have made history at City Hall," says Welling.
Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil, the Social Democrats' candidate for mayor, conceded defeat early Wednesday morning. The party lost 4.5 percentage points in Copenhagen and also made a historically poor showing for the country as a whole.
"Now we're losing Copenhagen. I find that incredibly annoying," says Rosenkrantz-Theil in connection with the loss.
Footnote: For two days in October 2004, Hellen Hedemann from the Socialist People's Party held the post, then as acting mayor of Copenhagen.
