GENERAL ELECTIONS 2026
Demokraatit went from first place in the Inatsisartut election to third place in the general election. Now the chairman comments.
Jens-Frederik Nielsenchairman of Demokraatit and Naalakkersuisut, works quietly in his office the day after the general election. On the table are many letters from abroad with statements of support in a difficult time for Greenland.
He receives many inquiries. But if you look at yesterday’s election, the support for Demokraatit was not great enough to secure the party a mandate in the Folketing.
– It’s okay. As a party, we have not lost much compared to the last general election, but we had of course hoped for more, says Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Demokraatit got 18.5 percent of the votes in the general election in 2022, while yesterday the party got 17.6 percent.
But if you look at other figures, it suggests that the party is gradually losing votes.
In the election for Inatsisartut on 12 March last year, Demokraatit got 30 percent of the vote.
In the municipal election on 1 April of the same year, the vote share fell to 25 percent.
And at this year’s general election, it fell further to 17 percent.
– There is a price to take on a great responsibility. If after an election you cannot quickly translate expectations into concrete results, the voters will naturally react. That seems to be the case with yesterday’s election. We have a task as a party, says Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
This is how he will try to rectify the situation
During a period of pressure on the country, democracy and the government have been very visible internationally.
At the same time, voter criticism has grown. The criticism is due to several factors.
Demokraatit promised in the run-up to last year’s election to Inatsisartut to abolish the mandatory pension savings, but has not yet fulfilled the promise.
– Regardless of which party is elected and assumes responsibility, you naturally want to carry out your election program in full. But in Inatsisartut, it requires at least 16 out of 31 mandates to get a majority, and therefore the parties have to negotiate with each other.
– When it comes to the pension scheme, a step has been taken which may not be satisfactory for the citizens, says Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Although Demokraatit did not get a seat in the Folketing, he hopes for good cooperation with the Greenlandic representatives.
– We are in an important time and are aware of the pressure from outside. Our representatives are stronger if they work together, regardless of political affiliation. Already in 2022, we pointed out that it was a pity that the two elected to the Folketing could not cooperate – seen from the outside, says Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Anna Wangenheim continues as nail polish suisoq
Anna Wangenheim, naalakkersuisoq for health and persons with disabilities, received critical attention during her election campaign for the Folketing, which generated debate. Although she received many votes, she was not elected. Jens-Frederik Nielsen confirms that she will continue her work in Naalakkersuisut.
Anna Wangenheim remains in Naalakkersuisut, while her colleague from Inuit Ataqatigiit, Naaja H. Nathanielsen, was elected to the Danish Parliament and has already submitted her resignation as naalakkersuisoq, says Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Thus, four out of ten members of Naalakkersuisut have resigned since the coalition was formed last year, and a year has not yet passed.
How do you assess your position in Naalakkersuisut?
– It is of course not nice when members of Naalakkersuisut withdraw. When we formed Naalakkersuisut together, I imagined that all ten of us would stick together for four years because the country needs it. But that has not been possible, and therefore we must move forward based on the current events, says the chairman of Naalakkersuisut and Demokraatit.
