Social Democrat leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt will take over power after her centre-left ‘Red Bloc’ coalition narrowly won the poll.
She wants to increase government spending by levying extra taxes on the wealthy.
Thorning-Schmidt’s centre-left coalition will have a majority of up to five in the 179-seat Danish parliament. Voter surveys suggest Rasmussen paid with his job due to dissatisfaction with the state of Denmark’s economy, currently mired in its worst downturn since World War Two.
The centre-right Blue Bloc coalition had been in power for nearly ten years.
