According to Danmarks Radio's exit poll, the Social Democrats are receiving just over 19 percent of the vote, a drop of over 8 percentage points. The party remains the largest, but the preliminary result is historically poor, Danish media report.
This result - and it is subject to change - shows that there is no doubt it costs to be responsible through so many crises, says Minister of the Environment and Gender Equality Magnus Heunicke (S) to TT at the Social Democrats' election vigil in Copenhagen.
The numbers may change slightly during the evening, and according to TV2's polling station survey, the Social Democrats get slightly over 20 percent.
The Left is furious
The ruling Liberal Party also looks set to plummet, from 13.3 to 9.3 percent.
According to the exit polls, neither the red nor the blue bloc will have a majority of their own in the Folketing, which has 179 members, but Lars Løkke Rasmussen's centrist party, the Moderates, will.
Everything points to Løkke being the kingmaker who decides whether Denmark's next government will lean to the right or left. The Moderates look set to win 14 seats.
Initial calculations show that the red bloc will receive 83 seats, while the blue bloc will receive 78 seats. 90 seats are required for a majority in the Folketing.
The votes in the Faroe Islands and Greenland, with two mandates each, may also have some role in the negotiations to form a new government.
Cheers greet Messerschmidt
The Danish People's Party, which was almost completely eliminated in the last election, looks set to increase from 8 to 13 seats, and party leader Morten Messerschmidt arrives to cheers at the election vigil in Copenhagen, reports TT's correspondent.
"We seem to be the party that is growing the most. We will show the Danes that there is another alternative to Løkke and Mette," he says to a cheering crowd as he arrives at the party's election vigil.
