Danes hand Social Democrats mandate to form government

Denmark's Prime Minister and head of the Social Democratic Party Mette Frederiksen and Denmark's Minister of Transport Trine Bramsen walk during the general election in Odense, Denmark November 1, 2022. Ritzau Scanpix/Tim Kildeborg Jensen via REUTERS

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Danes on Tuesday handed the Social Democratic Party a mandate to form a new government in a general election seen as a vote of confidence in Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's handling of the pandemic and her leadership to overcome yet another crisis.

The Social Democrats secured their strongest backing in more than two decades, despite criticism of Frederiksen's tenure for having centralised power around her office and her controversial decision to cull all mink during the pandemic.