When Grenland put in the center of attention by the insistence of President Trump that the United States would somehow “get” Greenlanders watched carefully electoral Tuesday that has taken on unusual importance – not only for the outside world, but for them.
The voter’s turnout has reached the highest level in more than a decade, and the polling stations on the remote, sparsely populated island, which is partly controlled by Denmark, remained open to place long lines.
But with all the votes that are counting early Wednesday morning, the results were mixed.
The winner was Democaatit, a party that was critical of Mr. Trump’s rhetoric. She has occupied a moderate stand on the topic of Denmark’s independence, which most Greenland politicians support as a long -term goal.
The second most popular party, however, is Naleraq, however, which was difficult for independence before – which some of his members said that Greenland would allow more free connection to other countries, including the United States. One of the most prominent Naleraq figures is very pro-trump and attended the American President’s inauguration.
Greenlands are obviously divided, experts said about how to deal with this intersection.
“What has become clear during the choice – and what Denmark now has to recognize – is that in the whole political spectrum there is dissatisfaction with the current constitutional arrangement,” said Ulrik Pram Gad, researcher of the Danish Institute for International Studies in Copenhagen. “Regardless of the outcome, there will be a call to negotiate the structure of the Danish kingdom.”
Denmark colonized Grenland more than 300 years ago, and although the island is now considered a semi -automatic territory, Denmark continues to control external policy, defense and other aspects of its management. Democratit – who won just under 30 percent of the vote, in front of 24.5 percent of Naleraq – consistently claimed that independence should not endanger economic and social stability. Only 56,000 people live on the island, and the difference between first and second place in this election was about 1,500 votes.
Lars Trier Mogensen, a political analyst based in Copenhagen, said he did not expect drastic changes in Greenland’s geopolitical situation, at least so far.
“The new Greenland government is unlikely to come into big shifts in American relationships soon,” he said.
In interviews with voters in the last few weeks and during the event at the City Hall with candidates, local issues such as health care, schools and fishing (the main industry of the island) continued to appear. Some observers said two leading parties are clearer in what to change.
For example, both of the campaigns to renovate the Fisheries Act, he said Svend HardenbergRudar Executive Director and, more recently, UA Star Popular Danish series Netflix This, Serendipically, had the whole season about Greenland.
“The main direction is independence,” he said. “I think it can go faster than most people expect.”
Greenland boasts of minerals and strategically located near the increasing Arctic Ocean shipping strip. Mr. Trump, u Address to the congress Last week, he said, “I think we will get it – one way or another, we will get it.”
On Sunday, two days before the election, in a post on social media, he made a direct terrain towards Greenlanders: “We are ready to invest billion dollars to create new jobs and enrich you.”
But Greenlanders were clear that despite the intercession of Mr. Trump, they did not want to absorb them from the United States, and the surveys showed that at least 85 percent to oppose the idea. “Greenland is not a house that can be bought,” said Democaatit, Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Still, Kuno Feckker from Naleraq, who is the most famous politician Greenland, received far more votes than in the last elections, 2021. Mr. Fenker attended Mr. Trump’s inauguration and visited the West Wing, and his incentive for a stronger relationship with which they brought him to the cable, and some stood out to the cable. IN Recent podcastMr. Fencker claimed that Mr. Trump was “misunderstood.”
Naleraq’s ending of the second place means that independence voices will remain influential, and the party could pledge greater engagement with Washington. But the enthusiasm of Mr. Feckr may have excluded some voters towards Mr. Trump, analysts said.
“Naleraq has positioned himself in a way that he seems to vote for them to bring Trump closer to them,” Mr. Gad said.
Naleraq doubled his places, from four to eight, in a parliament with 31 Greenland seats, Innisartut. At the party’s election party on the periphery of Nuuka, the capital, party members and supporters embraced, danced and cheered.
Analysts predicted that Democaatit was likely to form a ruling coalition with the more moderate party inuit Ataqatigiit, or Ia, which finished third, with 21.4 percent of the vote. Inuit Ataqatigiit, the dominant party in the leaving coalition, accepted access to disputes to separate from Denmark.
Greenland, the world’s largest island, is home to the mostly inuit population that has ranked Denmark in the colonial era. Over time, the demands for self -government have led to greater autonomy and Greenland government. One of the outlets of Naleraq, said Mr. Gad, was his “activist language” inspired by international movements such as #metoo and Black Lives Matter.
Today, Grenland manages most of its domestic jobs. But complete independence will not be easy. Denmark sends hundreds of millions of dollars every year to the island paying beautiful schools, cheap gas and strong social services – a Scandinavian life standard in a very remote place. Many Greenland, even if they tend to be independent, said that they were reluctant to insert all this, which is why the topic of breakthrough from Denmark is so sensitive.
Many voters also expressed skepticism, concern, and even anger because of the way Mr. Trump spoke about his homeland. People live on this ice island for thousands of years, surviving from hunting and fishing. The feeling of Greenland’s identity triggers strongly, and during the choice of the ballot, they had to transport a helicopter, a ship and motor snow.
In the last television debate on Monday, five of the six party leaders said they did not trust Mr. Trump. Only Karl Ingmann of the Male Qulleq party said he was. And Mr. Ingemann failed to win the place.
