Greenland returns MPs to Danish Parliament

SIKU CIRCUMPOLAR NEWS

On Tuesday, Greenland went to the polls to elect the two members of Parliament who will sit in the Danish Parliament in Copenhagen.

Lars Emil Johansen from the Siumut Party and Kuupik Kleist from the Inuit Ataqatigiit beat 14 other candidates. Many say the win shows support for their personal efforts to gain more autonomy for Greenland.

“Kuupik and I have been co-operating on self-government issues, so we’re getting closer to achieving more independence,” Johansen told KNR-TV in Greenland late Tuesday night.

Per Berthelsen, the leading candidate for the Democratic Party, came third in the election. According to political observers in Greenland, his campaign was hurt by the Demokrats’ close identification with the right-wing Danish People’s Party that has introduced anti-immigration policies into Denmark. Berthelsen, who also intends to run for mayor in Nuuk’s upcoming municipal elections, also hurt his chances to win by saying he would quit as MP if elected as mayor.

In Denmark, Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen became the first Liberal leader to win two consecutive terms in office. Overall, Liberals, Conservatives and the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party ended up with 96 seats in the 179-seat parliament.