DOMINANT ANGLE
Copenhagen is holding onto the electoral surprise: the first round has upset the polls and the Danish press already sees Flávio Bolsonaro as the favorite over a struggling Lula.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
With over 99% of the votes counted, Flávio Bolsonaro has obtained 47.2% against 45% for Lula, according to DR Nyheder; runoff on October 25.
- 02
Politiken claims that Bolsonaro has surprised everyone, including the polls, and is now the "big favorite" for the presidency.
- 03
Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year prison sentence for planning a coup against Lula, DR Nyheder recalls.
ANALYSIS
Copenhagen, October 5, 2026. For the Danish press, the first round of the Brazilian presidential election, on Sunday, October 4, was first and foremost a reversal of expectations. Politiken writes that Flávio Bolsonaro "surprised everyone, including the polls" and led from start to finish. The newspaper now calls him the "big favorite" to become the next president, and adds that many commentators are struggling to see Lula make a comeback.
DR Nyheder provides the figures: with over 99% of the votes counted, the senator from the state of Rio de Janeiro is at 47.2%, against 45% for the outgoing president. Twelve candidates were in the running. None of them crossed the 50% threshold needed, so the two men will face off in a direct duel on October 25. DR notes, citing Reuters and the BBC, that the result exceeds the expectations placed on him.
The public channel reports the words of the evening's winner, "very happy with the result": according to him, this shows that "Brazil wants change", and he says he is convinced of repeating this success in the second round. It presents Flávio Bolsonaro as the son of Jair Bolsonaro, the former president "tarnished by scandals", who is serving 27 years in prison for planning a coup against Lula.
Berlingske, which had followed the count in real time, described an early lead: 50.4% against 41.4% for Lula with 41.6% of the ballots counted. The newspaper explains that the southern states, Bolsonaro's supposed stronghold, are reporting their results first, while the Northeast, more favorable to Lula, arrives later. It recalls that Lula, 80, is running for a fourth term, that he warned against a Brazilian sovereignty threatened by the pressure of Donald Trump, and that he reinstated social benefits and slowed down the deforestation of the Amazon during his third term.
Politiken, DR, and Berlingske thus agree that the election is now being played out over three weeks of campaigning, with a right-wing candidate in a strong position and an outgoing president who must reinvent himself. The three media outlets remain focused on the election itself: the margin of votes, the calendar of the second round, and the candidates' statements. Market reactions, regional voting, and other elections won by the Bolsonaro camp do not appear in the provided texts.
