Greenland will form a new government following citizens voting to pursue a cautious path to independence, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s offer to buy the country.<\/p>\n\n
The pro-business Demokraatit \u2014 which hopes to stimulate the economy of the region ahead of independence from Denmark \u2014 took close to 30% of the total tally, more than three times since four years ago and disrupting a political establishment dominated for decades by centrist-left forces. “75% of the voters embraced a practical line of reasoning\u2014no independence until economic security,” said Rasmus Leander Nielsen of the University of Greenland. <\/p>\n\n
Greenland remains economically dependent on Denmark and gets nearly $600 million in grants every year. The new government must also manage U.S. ties in the wake of Trump’s assertion that he is hell-bent on buying the semi-autonomous territory “one way or another.” <\/p>\n\n
Demokraatit, which ran on a platform of fishing, mining, and tourism, captured 10 of parliament’s 31 seats. The party then needs coalition allies to reach a 16-seat majority. Analysts predict alliances with Inuit Ataqatigiit and possibly Atassut, but not Naleraq, which ran on unconditional independence. <\/p>\n\n
Voters did more than put economic concerns first; they also shunned Trump’s meddling. It is stability that many desire, fearing that rushing into independence would bring greater U.S. political meddling. <\/p>\n\n
Demokraatit candidate Jens-Frederik Nielsen opposed Trump, declaring, “Greenland is not a house you can buy.” His party will engage in coalition negotiations over the next few days.<\/p>\n\n
As coalition negotiations continue, Greenland’s leaders have to stimulate economic development, diplomatic relations, and eventual independence without excessive outside pressure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Greenland will form a new government following citizens voting to pursue a cautious path to independence, rejecting U.S.…","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"csco_display_header_overlay":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,40],"tags":[48],"class_list":{"0":"post-4457","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-politics","7":"category-society","8":"tag-articles-en","9":"cs-entry","10":"cs-video-wrap"},"yoast_head":"\n