Denmark set for September election: media

COPENHAGEN: Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen will announce parliamentary elections Friday for September 15, Danish media reported.

The reports by Danish public broadcasters DR and TV2 and by the Ritzau news agency came shortly after Rasmussen, who heads a centre-right coalition government, called a surprise news conference for 11:00 am (0900 GMT) following weeks of growing rumours of an imminent vote.

The prime minister, who was appointed two years ago to replace his predecessor Anders Fogh Rasmussen when he was named NATO's secretary general, has to call elections before November 12 this year.

The last general elections were held in November 2007.

The ruling coalition of Rasmussen's Liberal Party and its junior partner the Conservative Party has been in power since 2001, supported by its parliamentary ally the far-right, anti-immigration Danish People's Party.

On Thursday, the Conservative Party pushed for the government to call elections quickly.

"One should be careful about giving the prime minister good advice, but Denmark needs an election," Conservative Party political spokeswoman Carina Christensen told the Politiken daily.

"Many things just stop because people are waiting for this election. It would be a good thing to get it over and done with," she added.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011