Danes Form New Government; Opposition Chief Calls It Weak

Conservative Prime Minister Poul Schlueter formed a new three-party coalition government Friday which the opposition predicted would be one of the weakest ever seen in this country.

The center-right minority government, formed after more than three weeks of talks since an inconclusive election May 10, is a coalition of the Conservative and Liberal parties with the small Radical Liberal Party, a newcomer to the administration.

One of Schlueter’s first tasks will be to tackle the issue of tightening a ban on nuclear weapons aboard visiting North Atlantic Treaty Organization ships, which prompted the calling of last month’s election.

Opposition Social Democratic leader Svend Auken, who failed to form his own coalition with the Radicals, told journalists: “It will be one of the weakest governments we have ever seen. This will be a government term marked by instability.”

Schlueter called the May election after Parliament approved a Social Democratic resolution to give visiting ships a written reminder that they are not allowed to carry nuclear weapons into Danish ports.

The prime minister said this threatened Denmark’s membership in NATO, because it runs counter to the policy of allies Britain and the United States not to divulge whether individual ships carry atomic arms.

The British and U.S. governments warned that they might stop visiting Danish ports and cease joint exercises if the resolution were implemented.

A spokeswoman of the far-right Progress Party, Pia Kjaersgaard, predicted that the new coalition will have an “uncertain voyage” and said it could be toppled as soon as her party lines up on any issue with the Socialists.

The new administration, with only 67 seats in the 179-seat Parliament, replaces Schlueter’s four-party coalition that had ruled Denmark since 1982.

The Radicals, who hold the balance of power in Parliament with 10 seats, have replaced the Center Democrats and the Christian People’s Party, who are no longer in the government.