NUUK: Talks to form a new Greenland government tasked with mapping a timeline for independence from Denmark were to begin on Wednesday, a day after elections that saw support soar for a party seeking to cut ties swiftly. Tuesday's vote in the self-governing Danish territory came against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump's threats to take over the resource-rich Arctic island, which have shined an unprecedented global spotlight on Greenlandic politics. All of the territory's main political parties, and the majority of the 57,000 inhabitants, back independence. But the two parties that came out on top disagree on how quickly the process should go.
The Democrats, a "social liberal" party, unexpectedly tripled its score to win 29.9 per cent of votes. They want Greenland to cut ties with Denmark only after it has secured its own financial independence. Naleraq, which doubled its score to 24.5 per cent, wants to break free as soon as possible. The election dealt a heavy blow to the two parties in the outgoing government coalition, the left-green Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) and social democratic Siumut. — AFP
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