Denmark votes in polls clouded by Trump's Greenland push

COPENHAGEN, Mar 24 (Reuters): Danes voted on Tuesday in an election that could hand Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen a third term thanks to her staunch line against U.S. President Donald Trump over Greenland, even though cost-of-living worries have hurt her leftist credentials.

Opinion polls show her Social Democrats are headed for their weakest result since before World War Two - many Danes blame Frederiksen for not doing enough to protect their Nordic welfare model, while others point to growing weariness after nearly seven years of her leadership.

Frederiksen, 48, called the vote months before an October deadline, in what observers said was an effort to capitalise on an uptick in popularity when Trump's rhetoric about controlling Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, intensified in January and he refused to rule out military force. But Greenland has since moved to a less heated diplomatic track and has been overtaken by domestic concerns, including a proposed wealth tax, debates on immigration and calls for restrictions on agricultural pesticides affecting the groundwater.