COPENHAGEN — Voters in Denmark will decide who runs the country for the next four years in a general election Tuesday. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the election last month following a standoff with U.S. President Donald Trump over the future of Greenland.

If the leader of the Social Democratic party can form a new government after Tuesday's vote, she will begin her third term. Frederiksen has led Denmark since mid-2019 and has pursued a restrictive approach to migration during her tenure.

During her second term, Frederiksen's support declined as the cost of living increased. University of Copenhagen election researcher Kasper Møller Hansen predicts that Frederiksen will likely cling to power, though perhaps with the worst results yet for her party. "She's getting a big burst to her poll results on the topic of Greenland, or the relationship with the United States, or Ukraine. On home turf, she's being really challenged," Hansen said.

The Social Democratic party won 27.5% of the vote in the 2022 election and is likely to finish short of that percentage while remaining in first place. Denmark's system of proportional representation typically produces coalition governments, and the outgoing administration was the first in decades to include parties from both the left and the right.

Frederiksen faces two center-right challengers, one from within her current government and one from outside it. Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen leads the Liberal (Venstre) party, which headed several recent administrations but has had low polling numbers in recent years. Alex Vanopslagh, 34, leads the Liberal Alliance party, which has called for lower taxes, reduced bureaucracy, and for Denmark to abandon its refusal to use nuclear power.

If neither the left-wing nor the right-wing blocs wins a working majority, the Moderate party could hold the balance of power. The centrist party is led by Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. The anti-immigration Danish People's Party had a weak showing in 2022 and appears poised to increase its support.

Frederiksen announced proposals this month including a potential "emergency brake" on asylum and tighter controls on criminals who lack legal residence. Her government had already unveiled a plan to allow the deportation of foreigners who have been sentenced to at least one year in prison for serious crimes, and Frederiksen is one of the European leaders pushing to set up "return hubs" outside the E.U. for rejected asylum seekers.

Denmark received 1,961 asylum applications last year, down from more than 21,000 asylum applications in 2015. The cost of living, pensions, and a potential wealth tax have been key issues in the campaign alongside immigration policy.