Danish Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who narrowly won Tuesday's general election, said she had handed in her resignation to the Queen on Wednesday and will begin exploring a coalition across the political middle.
The talks are however expected to be lengthy as both friends and foes of Frederiksen have expressed skepticism of such a coalition, making the outcome uncertain.
The left-leaning bloc, of which Frederiksen's Social Democratic party is a part, got 90 seats, the slimmest possible majority in the 179-seat parliament, while the right-wing bloc got 72 seats and a newly formed centrist party secured 16.
Frederiksen had campaigned on the need for a broad coalition across the traditional left-right divide, arguing that political unity is needed at a time of international uncertainty.