Denmark's prime minister looks set for a comfortable victory in next month's election as Danes being wooed by tax cuts and tough immigration laws disregard mounting security concerns, polls showed today.
Mr Anders Fogh Rasmussen's centre-right government stormed into office in November 2001 after ousting a Social Democratic coalition on a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment and pledges of tougher asylum laws and a cap on the country's high taxes.
He called a February 8th general election last week before a November deadline. An early election call had been expected.
Polls show jobs and immigration top the election agenda while support for the US-led war in Iraq - where Denmark has 500 troops - is less contentious despite five soldiers being charged last week with abusing Iraqi prisoners.
But last week intelligence services warned that Denmark's presence there increased the threat of an attack such as the 2004 Madrid train bombs, saying it clearly "played a roll that the attack in Spain took place during an election campaign".
A Gallup poll published today showed the ruling coalition of Liberals and Conservatives, and parliamentary allies such as the anti-immigrant Danish People's Party, winning 100 of the 179 seats in parliament. In 2001 they won 98 seats.
Mr Lars Bille, politics professor at the university of Copenhagen, said the opposition had failed to set a new agenda and Danes were satisfied with economic progress and the new asylum policies implemented by the government since 2001.
"Something exceptional has to happen in the next two weeks for the government to lose," he said.