CNN —
Greenland’s pro-business opposition party won the Arctic island’s closely-watched parliamentary election on Tuesday, following a race dominated both by US President Donald Trump’s annexation threat and growing calls from residents for independence from Denmark.
The center-right Demokraatik party, which advocates for a slower approach to independence, is leading with 29.9% of the vote, overtaking the ruling left-wing party IAInuit Ataqatigiit, according to preliminary official results.
“People want change … We want more business to finance our welfare,” Demokraatit’s leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen told Reuters following the results. “We don’t want independence tomorrow, we want a good foundation.”
This year, Trump’s idea to annex the territory has thrown an international spotlight on the election and raised questions about the island’s future security as the United States, Russia and China vie for influence in the Arctic.
Nielsen will now hold talks with other parties to try to form a government coalition.
The incumbent ruling party Inuit Ataqatigiit came in third with 21.4% of the vote. Its left-wing coalition partner Siumut came in fourth with 14.7%. It’s a huge drop from the previous election, when they won a combined two-thirds of the electorate.
Incumbent Prime Minister Múte Egede said in a statement that he respects the results of the election and is excited to hear what parties will offer in coalition negotiations. His democratic socialist Inuit Ataqatagiit party views independence as a long-term project requiring years of negotiation with Denmark and further economic improvement.
Meanwhile, another opposition party Naleraq, which campaigned to sever ties with Denmark more quickly, secured 24.5% of the vote.
“Our main focus will be the politics we’ve been elected for, and then we will have to talk to the other parties, where they stand,” said Anna Wangenheim, a Demokraatit party member of Greenland’s parliament. It’s not yet clear which group the center-right party will form a new coalition with.
All the dominant parties in Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory rich in oil and gas, agree on the desire for independence from Denmark. In almost every election in recent years, Greenland’s politicians have promised to take steps to achieve autonomy – but none of them have offered a concrete timeline.
“The success of Demokraatit and Naleraq indicates that many in Greenland may be seeking independence but they care just as much about social issues such as healthcare, childcare, education and employment,” said Dwayne Ryan Menezes, director of the UK-based Polar Research and Policy Initiative.
“The key difference between the two is that for Naleraq, political independence is a top goal, while for Demokraatit, it is more of an end goal. What 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,” Menezes said.
Trump offers Greenland a deal during his address
00:50 – Source: CNN
Speaking about Greenland in his speech to Congress last week, Trump said, “I think we’re going to get it one way or the other” – reigniting fears of the United States attempting to take the island by force or economic coercion.
The United States already has a military base in the Arctic Circle in far northwest Greenland.
Analysts say the US president’s aggressive stance has actually given the Arctic territory more bargaining power with Denmark, and kicked the independence movement into high gear.
Denmark ruled Greenland as a colony until 1953, when the island achieved greater powers of self-governance. Then, in 2009, it gained more powers pertaining to minerals, policing and courts of law. But Denmark still controls security, defense, foreign and monetary policy. Greenland also benefits from Denmark’s European Union and NATO memberships.
While Greenlandic politicians have repeatedly signaled that they’re uninterested in annexation, they are open to deals with the United States for rare earth mining, expanding tourism, stronger diplomatic connections and other investments.
A poll in January, commissioned by Danish and Greenlandic newspapers, found that 85% of Greenlanders did not want to become part of the US, with nearly half saying Trump’s interest was a threat, Reuters reported.
“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 Naleraq candidate Qupanuk Olsen, according to Reuters.
CNN’s Ivana Kottasová contributed reporting.
