It was with tears in his eyes that Løkke Rasmussen received the first exit polls on Tuesday evening.
He had become a kingmaker, after all - or was it no coincidence that something had breathed life into his party, the Moderates, which had been nicknamed "the clown bus" after a series of internal conflicts?
In Denmark, Løkke Rasmussen is known as “the politician with nine lives.” He has been outmaneuvered so many times that Danes have lost count.
Lost the Prime Minister's post
In the 2019 election, he lost the post of Prime Minister to Mette Frederiksen (S). He then left the Venstre party and later formed a new party, the Moderates, with the goal of breaking bloc politics.
After the 2022 election, he once again found himself in the spotlight as foreign minister in a center-left government led by Frederiksen.
However, the government was unpopular from the start and as late as December 2025, election forecasts indicated that the Moderates would receive 1.5 percent, which was below the threshold for the Folketing.
The Moderates got an unexpected boost after the historic meeting about Greenland at the White House earlier this year. Løkke Rasmussen was hailed almost as a diplomatic hero and the party took off.
Hot dogs and shawarma
But there was concern that the boost would be short-lived. Two days after Frederiksen called the election, Løkke Rasmussen also caught a bad cold.
He coughed and smoked, both a pipe and cigarettes, now and then during campaign walks where he passionately explained why he detests fringe parties.
He served hot dogs and shawarma during the same election event, a strategic choice to attract voters on both the right and the left, and a message that hit home.
When the final election results were presented, the "politician with nine lives" arrived at the Moderates' election vigil with a big smile and a pipe in the corner of his mouth.
Even though his party lost 1.6 percentage points, the result means that he retains his role as a kingmaker.
"We stood in the middle. And that's where we stand tonight," said Løkke.
