Opposition wins Greenland election, held amid Trump saber-rattling

The center-right Democrats are on track to defeat the governing left-wing coalition in Greenland’s election, while a pro-U.S. party recorded its best result ever in Tuesday’s vote.

The Democrats party, which describes itself as pro-business, more than tripled its result from the previous election 2021, garnering about 30 percent of the vote, with around 70 percent of ballots counted. The party supports Greenland’s independence — but only gradually, once the self-ruling Danish territory is politically and economically more developed.  

The party’s leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, has said Greenland is not for sale and rebuffed U.S. President Donald Trump’s interest in acquiring it, calling the aggressive overtures “a threat to our political independence.”

The night’s other big winner was the centrist Naleraq party, which doubled its vote share from 2021. Naleraq wants a snap referendum on separating from Denmark and favors closer ties with the United States, including a potential free association agreement.

Meanwhile, the left-wing Inuit Ataqatigiit and center-left Siumut, which govern the island in a coalition, came in third and fourth, respectively. No party received an absolute majority.

Greenlanders went to the polls amid Trump’s repeated threats to seize the territory, kicking off a geopolitical tug-of-war and thrusting the island and its sparse population of about 60,000 into the spotlight.

Trump’s remarks energized the debate over Greenland’s future, including whether it should remain part of Denmark, seek full independence or enter into an arrangement with the U.S. Voters consequently came out in droves on Tuesday, with turnout increasing significantly compared to 2021, according to local media.

The election result, which saw a major boost for the ardently pro-independence and pro-cooperation with the U.S. Naleraq party even as the more cautious Democrats took first place, signals that Greenlanders are divided about the best path forward.