Copenhagen, Mar. 28, (dpa/GNA) – Four Greenlandic parties have signed an agreement to form a broad coalition government as the territory aims to fend off threats by President Donald Trump to bring the island under US control.
The new Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen of the centre-right Demokraatit (Democrats) signed the deal on Friday along with the leaders of the smaller conservative Atassut (Solidarity), the social democratic Siumut (Forward) and the left-wing Inuit Ataqatigiit (Community of the People, IA) of former prime minister Múte B. Egede.
The new government includes four of the five parties in Greenland’s parliament, leaving only the Naleraq (Point of Orientation) party, which is pushing for rapid independence from the kingdom of Denmark, in the opposition.
Between them, the four parties hold 23 of the 31 seats in parliament – almost a three-quarters majority.
Such a broad government cooperation is very unusual on the island and is seen as a response to Trump’s interest in the resource-rich Arctic territory.
“These are trying times for us as a population,” Nielsen said at the presentation of the new government, according to the Greenlandic radio station KNR.
“We have to stick together. Together we are strongest,” the 33-year-old prime minister added.
Demokraatit won the parliamentary elections on March 11 with almost 30% of the vote, tripling its previous result. Naleraq came in second, followed by the two previous governing parties IA and Siumut, both of which suffered significant losses.
The signing of the deal coincided with an unwelcome visit by US Vice President JD Vance to a US military base in northern Greenland.
Trump says Greenland is of strategic importance for US security. The island lies on important shipping routes, straddling the Arctic and Atlantic.
Greenland officially belongs to the kingdom of Denmark but decides on most of its political matters independently. However, foreign affairs and defence are run by the government in Copenhagen.
Independence from Denmark has been debated for decades – a debate that has been significantly accelerated by Trump’s remarks.
The new government will now be formally approved by parliament before it is officially inaugurated.
GNA
PDC