COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Greenland’s political parties must set aside their disagreements and swiftly form a broad coalition government to show unity in the face of a U.S. campaign to annex the island, the Democrats said on Friday after winning this week’s election.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the leader of the pro-business party which favours gradual independence from Denmark, expressed the urgency of the situation in a Facebook post following an initial round of coalition discussions.
“This is not the time for political tactics and internal disagreements. The situation for our country is far too serious for that,” he said, adding, “When someone threatens us, looks down on us or speaks badly of us, we stand together.”
On Thursday, President Donald Trump said the U.S. needed control of Greenland to enhance international security, adding when asked directly about the prospect of annexation: “I think that will happen.”
The leaders of the five parties in Greenland’s Inatsisartut parliament met on Friday to discuss a joint response to Trump’s comments.
The Democrats, who more than tripled their seats to 10 in the 31-seat chamber, has advocated for a responsible extraction of Greenland’s vast but largely untapped mineral resources, as a means to develop its economy and welfare as the semi-autonomous territory transitions to full independence from Denmark.
The strongly pro-independence Naleraq party came second in Tuesday’s election, doubling its seats to eight.
(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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