Greenland’s center-right, pro-independence Demokraatit Party won a shocking victory in parliamentary elections Tuesday, reaffirming enthusiasm for home rule even as President Trump says he wants U.S. to gain control of the island.
Demokraatit leaders celebrated after their party more than tripled their seats in parliament. According to the results, Demokraatit captured 30% of the vote, up from the 9% it secured four years ago.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the Demokraatit party leader, said the election results show that Greelanders want to stay Greelanders, adding that his countrymen need to stand together in a time of great interest from outsiders.
“We don’t want to be Americans,” Mr. Nielsen said. “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 was responding to Mr. Trump’s comments regarding Greenland’s independence. Since his inauguration in January, Mr. Trump has brought up the idea of seizing control of the island, even mentioning the plan in his first joint address to Congress last week.
“I think we’re going to get it — one way or the other, we’re going to get it,” Mr. Trump said of Greenland. “We will keep you safe. We will make you rich and together we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before.”
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the election results were a reflection of the feelings of Greenlanders while arguing that Mr. Trump will have a hard time taking control of the island.
“It’s not the case that you can just take part of the Danish realm,” he told Danish news agency DR. “The future of Greenland is based on what the Greenlandic people and government want.”
Greenland Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede, who called elections in February, thanked voters for turning out and called on all parties to begin negotiations to form a new government.
Prime Minister Egede’s party, Inuit Ataqatigiit, secured just over 20% of the vote, a marked decline from the last election when the party received 36%. Aggressively pro-independence party Naleraq came in second place with 25% of the vote, a significant increase from the 12% it secured in 2021.
Both Demokraatit and Naleraq campaigned heavily on the issue of Greenland’s independence, both from Denmark and the U.S.
Denmark colonized Greenland more than 300 years ago and maintains control over the island nation’s defense and foreign policy. Still, independence for Greenland is immensely popular among voters, they just disagree on how fast it should happen.
The Demokraatit party has advocated for a phased approach to Greenland’s independence, to gradually reduce and ultimately eliminate Denmark’s control over the territory. Naleraq by comparison favors streamlining independence.
Greenland gained the right to declare independence through a referendum in 2009, but has held off on holding a vote over concerns that leaving Denmark would lead to an immediate drop in living standards.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen congratulated Demokraatit on its victory, calling the election a “joyful day and a celebration of democracy. She added that her country would await the results of the upcoming parliamentary negotiations.
Still, the new government will likely have to reckon with intense pressure from the Trump White House. Mr. Trump has argued that U.S. control over Greenland is in his country’s best interest, due to the island nation’s strategic position in the North Atlantic and its deposits of rare earth minerals.
