Greenlandic Politician Affirms ‘Good Relations’ with Danish Parliament

On the icy steps of the Greenland Parliament building, at 4:30 p.m. Greenland time, which is four hours ahead of Central Time, and hour 10 of the 16 hours of light in Greenland at the end of April, Greenlandic politician Justus Hansen says that although his party, the Demokraatit Party, does not support independence right now, he does envision independence in Greenland’s future but wouldn’t put timeline on it.

“We [Demokraatit Party] are in the coalition, we are responsible and want to have our economy, especially, and our education, the health care system, and our people back from foreign countries in proper housing, and so on, before we can talk about independence,” Hansen said.

Hansen is one of 31 members of the Greenlandic Parliament, known as Inatsisartut, which translates to “those who make the law,” according to the Inatsisartut website. Hansen has been in the Greenland Parliament since 2009.

There are seven political parties represented in the parliament: The Demokraatit Party, Siumut Party, Inuit Ataqatigiit Party, Partii Naleraq Party, Atassut Party, Nunatta Qitornai Party and the Suleqatigiissitsisut Party. Out of the 31 total members in the parliament, Siumut has the most representatives with 10, Inuit Ataqatigiit has eight, Demokraatit has six, Partii Naleraq has three, Atassut has two, and Nunatta Qitornai and Suleqatigiissitsisut each have one member in the parliament, according to the Inatsisartut introduction website.

It is intriguing to compare the number of parties in Greenland to the dominant parties in the United States, the Republican and Democratic parties, given the significant difference in population between the two territories, which is roughly 342.44 million people, according to the United States Census Bureau.

Greenlandic political parties share similar beliefs with the two dominant parties in the U.S., focusing on funding for social programs, education, and businesses, while also prioritizing personal freedom and equality. Differing from American politics and each political party in Greenland are the views towards the issue of Greenland’s future independence, or lack thereof.

Greenland’s future, and possible independence, feature fractured opinions among the seven political parties. Siumut, Inuit Ataqatigiit, Partii Naleraq, and Nunatta Qitornai are the parties that support the goal of Greenland’s independence soon. Atassut aligns itself with strengthening the ties and cooperation with Denmark. Suleqatigiissitsisut’s vision lies with unity among the territory.

Economic health in Greenland relies on significant Danish financial support, but the homegrown Greenlandic economy is heavily driven by the fishing industry. Hansen said it will take “serious” and “thoughtful” discussions about economic changes to achieve independence in the future, all while in cooperation with the “Kingdom of Denmark, allies [in the] European Union and NATO.”

Greenlandic residents not only have a voice in Greenland’s politics, but they also have a voice in Danish politics. Greenlanders get to vote two times, one for their own parliament and also for the United Kingdom Parliament. This is comparable to Scotland, where Scottish citizens vote for their own parliament and the United Kingdom Parliament.

Out of the 179 seats in the Danish Parliament, two of the seats are represented by Greenlandic politicians. One representative is from the Inuit Ataqatigiit Party, and the other is from the Partii Naleraq Party, according to the Danish Parliament website.

Despite being two different parliaments and a 148-representative difference, Hansen said the parliaments have “good relations.”

“We have good relations with the Danish Parliament, especially due to our two representatives from Greenland,” Hansen said. “Of course, one is from the opposite party, but we are expecting a good relation[ship] with those [representatives] and with the Danish Parliament. We have to see what kind of Danish Parliament they want to establish now.”

The current parliament floor session runs through June. Hansen says there are multiple highly important issues the parliament is working on.

“We’re working on foreign policy, of course, also internal affairs,” Hansen said. “All sorts of adjustments to our [Greenlandic parties] coalition agreement.”

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This story is part of a semester-long investigative reporting project into Greenland’s people, history, and culture. It was created by an advanced reporting class in the Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies program at UW-Milwaukee. Other stories from the project are available on Edge of the Arctic: Greenland, the Land of the People.

This work was made possible through the support of MPC Endowment Ltd., the philanthropic affiliate of the Milwaukee Press Club, and a private donor.