Greenland’s centre-right opposition party, which told US president Donald Trump that the country was “not for sale”, has emerged victorious in the country’s parliamentary elections.
The Demokraatit party secured 29.9 per cent of the vote, ending the ruling coalition’s majority, official results show.
Jens Frederik Nielsen, Demokraatit’s leader and a former badminton champion, is poised to play a key role in shaping Greenland’s future. Mr Nielsen has been an outspoken critic of foreign interference, particularly in response to Mr Trump’s suggestion that the US could purchase the Arctic island.
The pro-business party, which supports a gradual approach to independence from Denmark, saw a sharp rise in support from 9.1 per cent in the previous election. It outperformed the opposition Naleraq party, which advocates for a swift break from Denmark.
Mr Trump loomed large over the election campaign amid a debate about the island’s independence.
Mr Trump has long wanted Greenland to be part of the US, first stating his desire to gain control of the country in his first term and saying earlier this year he wanted to buy it. Ahead of the election, he reiterated his position and also refused to rule out using force to get his way.
“One way or the other we’re gonna get it,” he told US Congress earlier this month. Greenlanders could, Mr Trump said, become “a part of the greatest nation anywhere in the world”. In comments on his Truth Social platform the US president said he was ready to invest billions “and make you rich”.
He iterated that the country is vital to US security interests, an idea rejected by most Greenlanders.
The vast island, with a population of fewer than 57,000, has been caught up in a geopolitical race for dominance in the Arctic, where melting ice caps are making its resources more accessible and opening new shipping routes. Both Russia and China have intensified military activity in the region.
In response to a recent bill banning foreign contributions to political parties, Mr Nielsen said Mr Trump’s comments are “a threat to our political independence”.
“We must defend ourselves,” he added. “I hope it sends a clear message to him that we are not for sale,” Mr Nielsen told Sky News, referring to Mr Trump’s comments.
“We don’t want to be Americans. No, we don’t want to be Danes. We want to be Greenlanders. And we want our own independence in the future. And we want to build our own country by ourselves, not with his hope.”
Mr Nielsen signed a signed a political cooperation agreement with Denmark’s Liberal Alliance in January, Danish daily Berlingske reported. Mr Nielsen said: “We are in the midst of an exciting and crucial time in the relationship between Greenland and Denmark,” it reported.
He will now hold talks with other parties to try and form a governing coalition.
The ruling Inuit Ataqatigiit party and its partner Siumut, which also seek a slow path towards independence, won a combined 36 per cent of votes, down from 66.1 per cent in 2021.
“We respect the election outcome,” prime minister Mute Egede of the Inuit Ataqatigiit said in a Facebook post, adding that he would listen to any proposals in upcoming coalition talks.
Greenland is a former Danish colony and has been a territory since 1953. It gained some autonomy in 1979 when its first parliament was formed, but Copenhagen still controls foreign affairs, defence and monetary policy and provides just under $1bn (£772m) a year to the economy.
In 2009, it won the right to declare full independence through a referendum, even though it has not done so out of concern living standards would drop without Denmark’s economic support.
“I strongly believe that we will very soon start to live a life more based on who we are, based on our culture, based on our own language, and start to make regulations based on us, not based on Denmark,” said Qupanuk Olsen, candidate for the main pro-independence party Naleraq.
Inge Olsvig Brandt, a candidate for the ruling Inuit Ataqatigiit party, said: “We don’t need the independence right now. We have too many things to work on. I think we have to work with ourselves, our history, and we are going to have a lot of healing work with us before we can take the next step.”
Voting had been extended by half an hour at some of the 72 polling stations across the Arctic island, where some 40,500 people were eligible to cast their ballot, although the final turnout was not immediately available.
Additional reporting by agencies
