The results of the early elections have arrived in Greenland: victory of the independence party Inuit Ataqatigiit (Ia). The opposition formation, environmentalist and left, overtook the ruling Siumut party, which nevertheless improved its result compared to the previous round, held in 2018. The victory of Ia it will have an impact on environmental policies on the island, in particular in relation to the exploitation of the huge mineral resources of Greenland. The count is completed but the official percentages of the various parties have not yet been disclosed. Siumut’s secretary, Erik Jensen, has already congratulated Ia on the victory. According to estimates, Inuit Ataqatigiit should have gotten 37 percent of the vote, while Siumut would have stopped at 29 per cent. The leader of Ia, Mute Egede, should therefore receive the task of forming a new government. In third place was the centrist party Naleraq with 12 percent, while the center-right Democrats stopped at 9 percent.
Greenland authorities have autonomy with respect to economic and social policies, but they depend on Denmark for monetary policy, foreign affairs and defense. The decision regarding the deposit near the mountain Kvanefjeld, where the second largest concentration in the world of rare earths and the fifth of uranium would be found, will therefore be up to a government expressing environmentalist demands, a possible backlash for the interests of the numerous foreign companies that aim the exploitation of the mines of Greenland.