Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt has handed in her government's resignation to Queen Margrethe, the day after being defeated at the polls.
The queen will later on Friday meet with representatives of the other parties to sound out who can form a new government while Thorning-Schmidt stays on as head of a caretaker government, the palace said, according to news agency Ritzau.
The big winner, the populist Danish People's Party, has declared it is not seeking the post of prime minister or even to join a new government.
"We went to the polls with a clear agenda that the (government's) policies are the main issue for us," said Kristian Thulesen Dahl, leader of the Danish People's Party.
"We opt for where we can have the most influence," he said.
Dahl repeated multiple times on the election night that despite strong gains, his party would stick to its election pledge and back Lars Lokke Rasmussen, leader of the Liberals, as new prime minister.
The populists added 15 seats to finish on 37 to make it the second-largest in the incoming parliament - and three seats larger than Rasmussen's Liberals, who dropped 13 seats to finish on 34 seats.
Rasmussen, a former prime minister who was unseated in 2011, also has the backing of the smaller Liberal Alliance and the Conservatives.
Together the opposition finished at 90 seats to 85 for Thorning-Schmidt's bloc, giving them a majority in the 179-seat parliament.
Rasmussen, 51, cautioned Friday that "tough talks" await in the coming days.
Writing on Facebook, he said: "Venstre (his party) did not get the result we had dreamed of, but we have got the opportunity to lead a government that can use the economic upturn and ensure growth in the whole of Denmark."
The populists can either opt to join a Rasmussen-led government or provide external backing to a government. They have done so in the past, and used that role to push for tighter asylum rules.
Conceding defeat early on Friday, Thorning-Schmidt also announced she was resigning as leader of the Social Democrats that she has led since 2005.
Favourite to succeed her is Mette Frederiksen. She is the outgoing justice minister.
The Social Democrats will hold 47 seats in parliament, three more compared to 2011 and the most of any party.
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