Mette Frederiksen, the incumbent PM, can form government though may face dilemma over picking leftwingers or moderates as partners

Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, has won a nail-biting election that gave her left-leaning bloc a one-seat majority in parliament – but her pledge to build a broad left-right coalition may mean she struggles to form a stable government.

Exit polls on Tuesday night had suggested Frederiksen’s five-party “red” bloc would lose its majority in the 179-seat parliament, but as the last votes were counted early on Wednesday it became clear that it had secured 87 seats in mainland Denmark.

Mette Frederiksen’s party predicted to have about 23% of vote, which could make former PM Løkke Rasmussen kingmaker

Prime minister Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democrats have finished first in Denmark’s election, exit polls have suggested, but neither the ruling left or rival right bloc are heading for a majority, setting up her predecessor and his new centrist party as kingmakers.

An exit poll by public broadcaster DR on Tuesday predicted that Frederiksen, who was forced to call the vote when an allied party withdrew support, had led the Social Democrats to a score of about 23%, nearly twice that of the second-placed Liberals.

22-year-old Danish man in custody as police chief says terrorism cannot be ruled out as a motive

Danish police say several people were shot dead and one suspect has been arrested after gunfire rang out at a busy Copenhagen shopping centre, with emergency services rushing to the scene on Sunday evening.

The number or condition of all the people struck by shots was not immediately available amid confusion over what had occurred at one of Scandinavia’s biggest malls.