With all the votes counted, it is clear that the social liberal Demokraatit (Democracy) will be Greenland’s largest party with over 30% of the vote – a landslide victory and more than a tripling from the 2021 election.
The party has historically been skeptical of Greenlandic independence and still stresses that this is something that must happen gradually and slowly – while maintaining close ties with Denmark.
There are 31 seats in the Greenlandic parliament, Inatsisartut, and Demokraatit is expected to win 10 of them.
The next largest party with 8 seats (24.7%) is Naleraq, a party that wants to see the fastest possible path to independence and whose leader, Pele Broberg, has repeatedly expressed support for increased US aid and protection.
Meanwhile, the leading government parties, the socialist Inuit Ataqatigiit and the social-democratic Siumut, fall sharply to third and fourth place respectively, losing half of their previous 22 seats. Finally, liberal-conservative Atassut takes two of the 31 seats in parliament, where 16 seats are needed for a majority.
Today, most Greenlandic parties advocate independence or increased autonomy in some form – but the election result is still seen as a setback for the Americans, as the leader of the Democratic Party, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, has repeatedly expressed criticism of the Trump administration’s plans for the island.
Critical of US plans
Nielsen has, among other things, called Trump’s plans to take control of Denmark “a threat to Greenland’s political independence” and argued that the US supports Greenlandic independence for cynical and selfish reasons.
– Why does he support independence? It’s because he can go straight to us, without talking to Denmark, and we will be easily influenced.
The Greenlandic politician, who set a new record with his 4,000 personal votes, says it is important for Greenlanders to be “masters in their own house” and says he is ready to cooperate with all other parties.
– We don’t want independence tomorrow, but we want a good foundation, he explained after his election victory.
Although government politicians in Denmark officially believe that it is up to the people of Greenland to decide on their own independence, observers say Danes are relieved by the election result and the fact that Naleraq did not become the largest party.
Significant autonomy
The Danish monarch is the head of state of Greenland and Denmark retains responsibility for defense and foreign policy, the judiciary and monetary affairs. At the same time, Greenlanders are recognized as a people in the sense of international law and have considerable autonomy, the basis of which is that they may take over competences from Denmark to the extent that they wish and can finance them.
In addition to the Inatsisartut parliament, where 31 members are elected every four years, Greenland also has two representatives out of 179 seats in the Danish parliament At the same time, unlike Denmark, Greenland is not a member of the EU.
Greenland has just over 56,000 inhabitants, more than 90% of whom live in the western part of the island, with around 18,000 in the capital Nuuk. In terms of surface area, at around 2.16 million square kilometers, Greenland is larger than Saudi Arabia as a country. Only a very small part is habitable.
