Lasse Frimand Jensen will continue as mayor of Aalborg Municipality following recent local elections. The Social Democrat made the announcement during an early Wednesday press conference. He confirmed his party has reached agreements with coalition partners about distributing political positions. The mayor stated the cooperation between parties has functioned well so far.
The Social Democrats emerged as the largest party in the North Jutland municipality despite losing some voter support. The party received 32.2 percent of votes in the municipal election. This represents a decline of 4.7 percentage points compared to the 2021 election results. The drop becomes more substantial when measured against their 2017 performance, showing a 16.5 percentage point decrease over the longer period.
Right-leaning parties in Aalborg had reportedly offered the mayor position to Jes Lunde from the Social Liberal Party. Instead, the Social Liberals chose to support the Social Democratic mayor alongside the Red-Green Alliance and Socialist People's Party. This coalition formation demonstrates the continuing fragmentation of Danish municipal politics where multiple parties must cooperate to govern effectively.
Lasse Frimand Jensen originally became mayor in 2023, midway through the election period. He replaced former mayor Thomas Kastrup-Larsen who stepped down earlier than expected. Kastrup-Larsen had held power in Aalborg since 2014 before accepting a director position at University College Northern Denmark. Frimand Jensen previously defeated former minister and parliament member Flemming Møller Mortensen in an internal party election.
The new mayor comes from established political lineage as the son of former Copenhagen Lord Mayor Frank Jensen. This family connection highlights how political dynasties remain relevant in Danish local governance despite the country's reputation for social mobility.
Aalborg Municipality has maintained an unbroken Social Democratic leadership tradition since 1925. This century-long dominance represents one of the most stable political strongholds in Denmark. The consistency provides both advantages in governance experience and challenges for democratic renewal.
The municipality's second-largest party, the Liberals, also lost ground in Tuesday's local elections. They secured 15.5 percent of votes, representing a 3.3 percentage point decrease from 2021. Meanwhile, the Socialist People's Party made noticeable gains to become Aalborg's third-largest political force. The Conservatives and Liberal Alliance follow in size, with Liberal Alliance more than tripling its vote share to reach 7.3 percent.
These shifting vote patterns reflect broader trends in Danish politics where traditional blocs are fragmenting. Voters appear increasingly willing to support smaller parties, forcing more complex coalition negotiations. The results in Aalborg demonstrate how even longstanding political strongholds must adapt to changing voter preferences while maintaining governance stability.