Voters in Greenland chose the social-liberal and pro-business Demokraatit party in a landslide victory on Tuesday (11 March), in the shadow of US calls to take over its vast territory.
Demokraatit won with almost one third (29.9 percent) of the vote, putting 33-year old party leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen in charge of forming a new government, following over 40 years of rule by left-leaning parties.
Under his leadership, Greenland is expected to boost its independence from Denmark still further and to diversify its economy away from fishing.
The opposition Naleraq party, which favours even faster independence from Denmark, also did well with 24.5 percent of the vote.
The two parties together would have a majority in Greenland's 31-member parliament, the Inatsisartut.
But Nielsen said he would reach out to all five parties represented in the new assembly before finalising his coalition.
Greenland is the world’s largest island, in terms of surface area, and also one of the least-populated countries, with just 40,481 eligible voters in Tuesday's elections.
It is a former Danish colony, which is still part of the Danish kingdom, but which also won self-rule since 2009.
It is also formally designated as one of the EU's 13 Overseas Countries and Territories, alongside places such as Aruba (the Netherlands) and New Caledonia (France).
The turnout (70.9 percent) on Tuesday was five-percent higher than in the previous 2021 election.
Splendid weather on the day helped get people out, but US president Donald Trump also played an important role.
He first suggested buying Greenland in 2019 — at the time most people thought it was a joke.
But he doubled down on his idea in a press conference on 7 January 2025, even adding that he wouldn't rule out using military force to seize it, due to its economic and strategic importance.
His son, Donald Trump Jr. landed in Greenland on a promotion tour the same day, despite strong statements from Greenland that it was not for sale.
And Trump reiterated his interest in acquiring Greenland in his address to the Congress on 4 March - just one week before the Greenlandish vote.
"I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland," he said, about halfway through his 90-minute speech in Washington.
Members of Congress started laughing out loud, which was seen in both Nuuk and in Copenhagen as a sign of disrespect.
"We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America," Trump said.
"We need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we’re working with everybody involved to try and get it", he added.
"We will keep you safe, we will make you rich, and together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before," Trump said
"I think we’re going to get it. One way or the other, we’re going to get it", he said, causing more giggles.
"It’s a very small population, but a very, very large piece of land. And very, very important for military security," Trump also said.
But if Trump was a factor in Greenland's vote, then so was anger toward Denmark from the beginning of the election campaign.
Investigative journalists revealed how Inuit women had been forced into birth control in the 1960s and 1970s, using intrauterine devices.
The Danish programme was a "genocide", said outgoing Greenlandish prime minister Muté B. Egede.
The Danish public broadcaster, DR, added fuel to the fire, when it published, and later retracted, a documentary about Danish profits made from Greenland cryolite mining in the 1980s.
Cryolite is a rare mineral used in aluminium smelting, pest control, and dye-making.
For their part, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen also visited Nuuk on 15 March last year.
Their charm offensive saw von der Leyen open a new EU office and Frederiksen promise €93m in funding for education and social welfare.
"From the very first moment, it [Greenland] felt like home, and I think it is because we are so like-minded," von der Leyen said upon her arrival.
But as the rift between Trump's administration and the EU keeps widening, the new government in Nuuk will now have important decisions to take.
Based on Tuesday’s election result, Greenland is likely to choose a path of more business friendly policies to exploit the country’s natural resources and speed up the process toward full independence from Denmark.
Under the status quo, Greenland gets a fixed annual grant of €450m from Denmark (forming 60 percent of the island's budget) and is eligible to take full control of all policy areas, except monetary policies, foreign relations and security.
But after 16 years of self-rule, Greenland has only exercised control over three issues — natural resources, worker safety, and its calendar (the decision when to switch from winter to summertime).
It can trigger independence talks with Denmark under Article 8 of its 2009 agreement via a majority vote by the Inatsisartut.
This would be followed by a referendum in Greenland and a final vote in the Danish parliament.
Greenland's security policy is today a matter for Denmark and Nato, under a separate deal with the US in 1951.
The 1951 accord says the US, as a Nato ally, would assist Denmark in defending Greenland, and grants America's military and commercial companies widespread access to the island.
During World War Two, the US mined Greenland and had more than a dozen military bases there.
Today, the US has just one active military facility — the Pituffik Space Base (formerly called the Thule Air Base) — which does surveillance of Russian and Chinese ballistic missiles and satellites.
Greenland has the world’s eighth-largest deposits of so-called rare-earth minerals, which are needed in technologies powering the transition away from fossil fuels.
But US companies have just five mining licenses there, having shown little interest in its mineral wealth until now.
UK companies have 28, Canadian ones have 25, Greenlandish firms 20, and Australian companies 15.
Lisbeth founded EUobserver in 2000 and is responsible to the Board for effective strategic leadership, planning and performance. After graduating from the Danish School of Media and Journalism, she worked as a journalist, analyst, and editor for Danish media.
Lisbeth founded EUobserver in 2000 and is responsible to the Board for effective strategic leadership, planning and performance. After graduating from the Danish School of Media and Journalism, she worked as a journalist, analyst, and editor for Danish media.