NUUK, Greenland (AP) — A party that favors a gradual path to Greenland’s independence from Denmark won a surprise victory in parliamentary elections, held in the shadow of U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated goal of taking control of the island.
The center-right Demokraatit Party has pushed back against Trump’s rhetoric, saying it is for Greenlanders to decide the future of the strategically important territory, which holds large reserves of the rare earth minerals 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.
The result should send a clear message to Trump that Greenland is not for sale, Demokraatit leader Jens-Friederik Nielsen told Sky News.
“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,” he said.
Trump has been outspoken about his desire to control Greenland, telling a joint session of Congress last week that he thought the U.S. was going to get it “one way or the other.”
Second-place finisher Naleraq is the most aggressively pro-independence, while Demokraatit favors a more moderate pace of change.
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.
Demokraatit’s 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.