Signing ceremony in the Danish Parliament

On Tuesday, April 14, all the new members of the Folketing were to sign a declaration that they will abide by the constitution.

The ceremony took place in the Landstingssalen with a slight delay due to uncertainty about the eligibility of one of the Danish members; Emilie Schytte.

Demand for equality

Of the 67 newly elected members of the Folketing, 61 had not previously signed the declaration. This included Qarsoq Høegh-Dam from Naleraq and Naaja H. Nathanielsen from Inuit Ataqatigiit. The latter has, among other things, demanded real equality between the three countries, which requires amendments to both the Constitution and the Self-Government Act.

– It was fantastic to sign. I am very much in favour of the rule of law and freedom of expression, so there are many fine things in the Constitution, but that does not change the fact that I think it is a really good idea that we change it in the long term, said Naaja H. Nathanielsen, who prior to the second meeting of the Folketing was also invited to government negotiations with Mette Frederiksen, which she describes as "positive".

Like signing a lease

Qarsoq Høegh-Dam chose to sign standing across the table, and subsequently told Sermitsiaq that it was like signing a lease: – I respect the Constitution of course, but for me it is not ceremonial to sign it. "I will probably hold a ceremony when we get our own constitution in Greenland," said Qarsoq Høegh-Dam.