{"id":3700,"date":"2025-03-12T12:18:32","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T16:18:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/?p=3700"},"modified":"2025-03-12T12:18:33","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T16:18:33","slug":"greenlands-election-winners-push-back-against-trumps-wish-to-take-control-of-the-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/?p=3700","title":{"rendered":"Greenland\u2019s election winners push back against Trump\u2019s wish to take control of the island"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NUUK, Greenland (AP) \u2014 A party that favors a gradual path to Greenland\u2019s independence from Denmark won a surprise victory in parliamentary elections, held in the shadow of U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s stated goal of taking control of the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The center-right Demokraatit Party has pushed back against Trump\u2019s rhetoric, saying it is for Greenlanders to decide the future of the strategically important territory, which holds large reserves of the rare earth minerals<\/a> needed to make everything from mobile phones to renewable energy technology. The Arctic island is also home to a U.S. air base and straddles strategic air and sea routes in the North Atlantic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result should send a clear message to Trump that Greenland is not for sale, Demokraatit leader Jens-Friederik Nielsen told Sky News<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to be Americans. No, we don\u2019t 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump has been outspoken about his desire to control Greenland, telling a joint session of Congress last week<\/a> that he thought the U.S. was going to get it \u201cone way or the other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving toward independence from Denmark<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A break from Denmark wasn\u2019t on the ballot, but it was on everyone\u2019s mind. Greenland was colonized 300 years ago by Denmark, which still exercises control over foreign and defense policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The island of 56,000 people, most from Indigenous Inuit backgrounds, has been on a path toward independence<\/a> since at least 2009, and the 31 lawmakers elected will shape the island\u2019s future as it debates whether the time has come to declare independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four of the five main parties in the race sought independence, but disagreed on when and how.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second-place finisher Naleraq is the most aggressively pro-independence, while Demokraatit favors a more moderate pace of change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat approach to independence will win the day will ultimately depend on if Demokraatit decides to form a coalition government, and if so, with which party,\u201d said Dwayne Menezes, managing director of the Polar Research and Policy Initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A surprising victory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Demokraatit won nearly 30% of the vote, compared to just 9% in the election four years ago, Greenlandic Broadcasting Corporation KNR TV reported, while Naleraq came in second with almost 25%, up from nearly 12% in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demokraatit\u2019s upset victory over parties that have governed the territory for years indicated many in Greenland care just as much about social policies such as health care and education as they do about geopolitics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nielsen, 33, appeared to be surprised by his party\u2019s gains, with photos showing him sporting a huge grin and applauding at the election party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that Greenland needs to stand together \u201cin a time of great interest from outside,\u201d KNR TV reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danish broadcaster DR reported that Nielsen said his party would reach out to all other parties to negotiate the future political course for Greenland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Denmark\u2019s reaction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen congratulated the Demokraatit party and said the future Greenlandic government would likely have to \u201cdeal with massive pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump,\u201d according to DR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that \u201cit\u2019s not the case that you can just take part of the Danish Realm \u2014 the future of Greenland is based on what the Greenlandic people and government want,\u201d DR reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, meanwhile, called the election \u201ca joyful day and a celebration of democracy\u201d in a statement Wednesday. She congratulated Demokraatit and said the Danish government would await the results of coalition negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uniting the country<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede<\/a> had called the vote in February, saying the country needed to be united during a \u201cserious time\u201d unlike anything Greenland has ever experienced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, after the results were known, Egede thanked voters in a Facebook post for turning out and said the parties were ready to turn to negotiations to form a government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His party, Inuit Ataqatigiit, or United Inuit, received 21% of the vote. This is a significant decline from the last election, when the party came in strongest with 36% of the vote, according to KNR TV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inuit Ataqatigiit had been widely expected to win, followed by Siumut \u2014 two parties which had dominated Greenland\u2019s politics in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siumut came in fourth with 14% of the vote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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