Several already elected members of Inatsisartut and of a municipal council are eagerly looking for a place in the ranks of the Folketing.
In addition to the two members of Naalakkersuisut, Anna Wangenheim (D) and Naaja H. Nathanielsen (IA), there are five members of Inatsisartut and one member of a municipal council who appear on the candidate list for the Folketing.
The following applies - in no particular order:
Will seek leave
Sermitsiaq has reached out to two members of Inatsisartut and one member of a municipal council to hear what their plans are in relation to political work if they were to be elected to the Folketing.
Pipaluk Lynge (IA) has stated that she will not sit on Inatsisartut if she is elected to the Folketing.
The decision to run for the Folketing is based on a democratic principle of making a difference. For Pipaluk Lynge, it is not about politics as an abstract concept, but about a personal conviction of being able to contribute constructively to the parliamentary work in Denmark.
- We live in a democratic country, and politicians are politicians. If I think I can contribute in the Folketing, then that is where I will run, she tells Sermitsiaq.
The debate about politicians' dual mandates in Greenland is now causing Pipaluk Lynge to call for a prioritization of the parliamentary framework. She points out that the discussion often misses the mark when it focuses on the background of the candidates instead of the actual working conditions in the chamber. According to Lynge, the balance between political office and private business should be looked at more closely.
- I personally believe that it is problematic that many of Inatsisartut's members have full-time jobs alongside Inatsisartut. I think that is paradoxical. And I think the focus should be there, instead of questioning our democratic right to stand for election, she elaborates.
The voters must make the decision
Whether he should hold a dual mandate, the voters should decide for themselves. This is pointed out by Bentiaraq Ottosen, a member of Inatsisartut and a candidate for the Folketing.
For him, the question of whether one can hold a seat in both Inatsisartut and the Folketing at the same time is not a personal choice, but a question of democratic trust. He emphasizes that his primary focus is to ensure Greenland the strongest possible representation.
- I will let the voters decide. When I am elected to the Folketing, it is important for me to respect the trust the voters have placed in me. At the same time, I believe that Greenland needs a strong and clear voice in the Folketing that can work purposefully for our interests.
Still uncertain
Doris Jakobsen Jensen is running for the Folketing, even though she has already been elected to the municipal council of Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq.
Doris Jakobsen Jensen has extensive experience working in the Folketing, Inatsisartut and municipal councils and has also served as naalakkersuisoq for a number of years. As a member of the Folketing in the period 2011-2015, she has focused on defense issues and foreign policy during her previous work as a member of the Folketing.
A leap from a municipal council to the Folketing may seem far, as the two political positions inherently offer major differences.
Doris Jakobsen Jensen wants Greenland to be at the table when a new defense agreement is to be put in place. She points out that the current agreement from 1951 was concluded between Denmark and the USA – without Greenlandic participation. Therefore, she believes that the agreement should be renewed so that Greenland also becomes a direct party to the signing. According to her, the goal is to ensure that Greenland has influence on decisions about the country's security and defense.
- My priority is to get a defense agreement made, because the defense agreement from 1951 was only between Denmark and the United States without Greenland. And that is why I believe that we should renew the defense agreement, and Greenland should be involved in signing it, says Doris Jakobsen Jensen.
She is still unsure whether she will seek leave from the municipal council in Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq if she is elected to the Folketing.
- I don't yet know what I will do with the municipal council membership if I am elected to the Folketing.
