LONDON — A closely contested election in Denmark resulted in victory on Thursday for a center-left coalition led by the Social Democratic Party, ending a 10-year run in power for a center-right coalition that adopted some of Europe’s toughest immigration controls.
The results, based on broadcasters’ tallies of more than 90 percent of the vote, set the country on course to having its first female prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, whose party led an alliance known as the red bloc. She claimed victory about three hours after the polls closed. “We’ve written history today,” Ms. Thorning-Schmidt said.
Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen of the Liberal Party conceded the election late Thursday, news reports said.
For Denmark, a nation of 5.5 million people, the election turned on the issue that has also divided many other Western nations struggling with low growth, large government deficits and historic levels of national debt: what mix of government spending and tax policies to adopt in order to restore economic health and avoid slipping further toward a crisis like Greece’s.