KOLDING, Denmark, (APP) - Denmark's anti-immigration DPP party is expected to post a record score in Thursday's general election, which has been marked by debate over the place of foreigners in Danish society.

Public opinion polls suggest almost one in five Danes, or some 18 percent, will vote for the far-right Danish People's Party, up from 12.3 percent in the previous 2011 election, with immigration cited as one of the top three campaign issues behind the economy and the country's cradle-to-grave welfare state.

The DPP "helps those that need it the most, I think. Hospitals and the elderly and nurseries. That's pretty good policy," said Rita Petersen, a retired childminder attending a recent DPP rally in the central town of Kolding.

The DPP was an influential player in Danish politics from 2001-2011, when it succeeded in imposing some of Europe's strictest immigration policies in exchange for helping successive right-wing governments pass legislation.

Under Social Democratic Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, in power since 2011, spending on asylum seekers has risen but the restrictions have remained largely in place.