Danish centre-right party to go it alone in minority government

The leader of Denmark's centre-right Venstre party said Friday he would form a minority government with ministers drawn solely from his own camp after unsuccessful negotiations with the anti-immigration Danish People's Party (DPP).

"My feeling is that after this evening's discussions, it would be possible to form a Venstre government under my authority, which will receive the support of parliament," Lars Lokke Rasmussen told public broadcaster DR, among other media.

Rasmussen was selected to become premier despite his party finishing third with 19.5 percent of the vote in elections last week, behind the Social Democrats and the far-right DPP, which saw its support jump to 21.1 percent from 12.3 percent.

The country's right-wing bloc ousted the centre-left coalition led by outgoing prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt in the vote.

Venstre wants to keep public spending unchanged over the next four years while the DPP wants to raise it by 0.8 percent -- more than was pledged by the leftist Social Democrat campaign.

A government made up of Venstre-only members would likely be extremely weak in parliament, with just 34 deputies of a total 179.

Rasmussen, who also served as prime minister from 2009 to 2011, said he would present his plan for the new government to Denmark's head of state, Queen Margrethe II, on Sunday morning.

While the DPP actually won more votes than Venstre, it has repeatedly said it would not join a coalition unless it could be sure to play an influential role.

Rasmussen previously ruled out forming a majority right-wing coalition, an unlikely scenario since it would have had to include both the DPP and the libertarian-leaning Liberal Alliance party, which wants to cut welfare spending.

The DPP -- which campaigned on tighter immigration rules, higher pensions for low-income earners and more money for healthcare and the elderly -- has given previous conservative governments parliamentary support.

But analysts say its new clout poses a dilemma for the party since staying outside government risks disappointing many voters, while assuming government responsibility could also make it less popular in the long run.