Denmark’s Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt (centre) famously took a selfie with US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron during a 2013 memorial service for Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg/AFP
Since calling elections last month, the Social Democratic leader has succeeded in clawing back lost support for her centre-left coalition ahead of Thursday’s parliamentary election, which pundits describe as too tough to call.
Best known abroad for taking a “selfie” with British Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service in December 2013, the tall, elegant 48-year-old blonde became Denmark’s first female prime minister in 2011.
She ousted a right-wing coalition that had steered the country into a housing boom and bust, triggering years of sluggish growth.
Lacking the charisma of some of her rivals, Thorning-Schmidt saw her support plummet as she implemented corporate tax cuts and scaled back parts of a massive welfare state in a country which has both Europe’s highest taxes and the world’s highest levels of household debt.
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