Greenland’s political landscape just got a seismic shake-up: the centre-right Demokraatit party stormed to victory in Tuesday’s election, pulling in nearly 30% of the vote and leaving the ruling duo of Inuit Ataqatigiit and Siumut in the dust. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, strumming victory chords at Nuuk’s Café Killut, called for unity against “outside meddling”—a not-so-subtle jab at U.S. President Donald Trump, who’s been itching to claim the Arctic gem since 2019. “We’ll negotiate with all comers,” Nielsen vowed, as his party’s gradualist stance on breaking from Denmark’s 300-year grip won the day, tripling its 2021 haul.
Hot on their heels, the pro-U.S. Naleraq party scored nearly 25%, powered by young firebrand Aki-Matilda Hoegh-Dam, who bolted from the establishment and nearly outshone Nielsen in personal votes. Over 40,000 Greenlanders braved 72 polling stations on the sprawling island to pick 31 MPs, with independence fever running high—though the pace splits the pack. Trump’s latest chest-thumping—“Greenland’s ours for national security”—amped up the drama, but both Nielsen and Denmark’s leaders shot back: no sale. As coalition talks loom, experts say domestic gripes like fishing laws tipped the scales, even with Uncle Sam’s shadow hovering.