Jens-Frederik Nielsen, chairman 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 large 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 received 18.5 percent of the vote in the 2022 general election, while the party received 17.6 percent yesterday.
However, if you look at other figures, it indicates that the party is gradually losing votes.
In the Inatsisartut election on March 12 last year, Demokraatit received 30 percent of the vote.
In the municipal election on April 1 of the same year, the vote share fell to 25 percent.
And in this year's general election, it fell further to 17 percent.
- There is a price to taking on a great responsibility. If after an election you cannot quickly translate expectations into concrete results, the voters will naturally react. This seems to be the case in yesterday's election. We have a task as a party, says Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
This is how he will try to rectify the situation
DEMOKRAATIT and the government have been very visible internationally during a period of pressure on the country.
At the same time, criticism from voters has grown. The criticism is due to several factors.
DEMOKRAATIT promised to abolish mandatory pension savings in the run-up to last year's election to Inatsisartut, but has not yet fulfilled its promise.
– Regardless of which party is elected and assumes responsibility, it naturally wants to implement its election program in full. But in Inatsisartut, it requires at least 16 out of 31 mandates to gain a majority, and therefore the parties must negotiate with each other.
– When it comes to the pension scheme, a step has been taken that may not be satisfactory for the citizens, says Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Although DemoKRAATIT did not win 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 stance. 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 naalakkersuisoq
Anna Wangenheim, Naalakkersuisut for Health and People with Disabilities, received critical attention during her election campaign for the Folketing, which created debate. Although she received many votes, she was not elected. Jens-Frederik Nielsen confirms that she will continue her work in Naalakkersuisut.
Anna Wangenheim will remain in Naalakkersuisut, while her colleague from Inuit Ataqatigiit, Naaja H. Nathanielsen, was elected to the Folketing and has already submitted her resignation as Naalakkersuisut, says Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
This means that four out of ten members of Naalakkersuisut have resigned since the coalition was formed last year, and it has not yet been a year.
How do you assess your position in Naalakkersuisut?
– It is of course not nice when members of Naalakkersuisut resign. When we formed the Greenland Government together, I imagined that all ten of us would stay together for four years because the country needs it. But that has not been possible, and therefore we must move forward based on current events, says the Chairman of the Greenland Government and Demokraatit.
