Two new Greenlandic members will take their seats in Denmark’s parliament after yesterday’s election. Qarsoq Høegh-Dam from the pro-independence party Naleraq won with 4,619 personal votes, while Naaja Nathanielsen from Inuit Ataqatigiit secured the second mandate. For the first time in history, the old social democratic party Siumut failed to win a seat.
The last votes from Nuuk were counted overnight, and the results were clear. Inuit Ataqatigiit took 28.6 percent of the vote. Naleraq came in second with 24.6 percent. Between them, they claimed both of Greenland‘s two seats in the Folketing.
Qarsoq Høegh-Dam became the election’s biggest vote getter. His victory marks a dramatic political comeback after a 2021 scandal that derailed his parliamentary ambitions at home. He told DR he was elected to represent all of Greenland, not just his party.
His half sister, Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam, has served in the Folketing since 2019. She left Copenhagen to sit in Greenland’s own parliament, the Inatsisartut. Now Qarsoq takes up the mantle in her place, giving Naleraq its first ever Folketing seat.
From Hash Conviction to Election Winner
Qarsoq Høegh-Dam’s journey to Copenhagen was not straightforward. At the 2021 Greenlandic parliamentary election, he won the fourth most votes for Siumut. Then it emerged he had a conviction for hash possession. He withdrew from politics.
For the past two years, he worked behind the scenes as a press officer and consultant for Naleraq. The party pushes the hardest line on independence of any major political force in Greenland. Qarsoq himself has been vocal against Denmark’s military buildup in Nuuk and the planned headquarters for Arctic Command in the city.
One of his signature issues is forcing Denmark to improve conditions in Greenlandic prisons and police stations. Danish authorities still run these services in Greenland, along with courts and other areas of governance. According to Qarsoq, those facilities must meet acceptable standards. He says cooperation across party lines seems possible on this front.
His resurrection is complete. Naleraq now has its own voice in the Folketing, and Qarsoq made clear that voice will be heard regardless of which coalition forms the next Danish government.
Health Minister Loses Despite Strong Showing
The election dealt a harsh blow to Demokraatit, the party of Greenland’s government leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen. Anna Wangenheim, the minister for health, had been considered a favorite. She won the third most votes at the last Folketing election and was widely expected to secure a seat this time.
She came in second for personal votes, with 2,358 ballots behind her name. But the system awards seats based on total party votes, not individual tallies. Inuit Ataqatigiit won more votes overall than Demokraatit, so the second mandate went to Naaja Nathanielsen instead.
Nathanielsen celebrated at IA’s election party in Nuuk’s assembly hall. She said her party was thrilled to fight back and become the largest again. When asked which Danish party she would support in Copenhagen, she declined to answer. That conversation, she said, would come later.
She will leave her post as minister for raw materials, business, energy, equality, and justice. Her predecessor, Aaja Chemnitz, served 11 years in the Folketing before choosing not to run again. Chemnitz was recently awarded the Tingprisen for 2024, recognition of her work representing Greenlandic interests at Christiansborg.
Siumut Shuts Out for First Time
The biggest shock came from Siumut, the grand old social democratic party that has dominated Greenlandic politics for decades. For the first time ever, Siumut won no seat in the Danish parliament. Its candidate, Ineqi Kielsen, managed only 1,142 personal votes, placing fifth among the top vote getters.
Atassut’s Ellen Schärfe finished fourth with 1,553 votes, but her party’s overall share of 10.7 percent left her short of a mandate as well.
A total of 21,428 votes were cast across Greenland. Turnout reached 52.3 percent, the highest for a Folketing election in 15 years. Still, that means only one in two eligible voters chose the ballot box over the couch. Enthusiasm for Danish parliamentary elections remains limited, even as the stakes around Greenland’s future relationship with Denmark continue to rise.
The two new members will join a Folketing that recently introduced simultaneous interpretation between Danish and Greenlandic for select debates. The change followed pressure from Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam, who spoke Greenlandic in the chamber in 2024 and refused to switch to Danish. The measure applies to only a handful of debates each year, those with special relevance to the relationship between Denmark and Greenland.
What Comes Next
Greenland has elected two members to the Folketing since 1953, when a constitutional amendment transformed the island from colony to equal part of the realm. The practical influence of those members has often been limited to the Greenland Committee and consultations with Naalakkersuisut, Greenland’s government.
Some in Nuuk argue the seats are no longer needed. Naalakkersuisut has proposed ending Greenlandic participation in Folketing elections, saying the self-government and the Inatsisartut provide sufficient representation. Any change would require a constitutional amendment, a complex process within the realm.
For now, Qarsoq Høegh-Dam and Naaja Nathanielsen will head to Copenhagen. They carry with them the voices of voters who turned out in higher numbers than usual, perhaps sensing that Greenland’s trajectory is entering a decisive phase. Whether they can make a difference in a 179-seat parliament where Greenlandic issues rarely dominate the agenda remains to be seen.
What is certain is that Naleraq’s independence agenda now has direct representation in the heart of Danish power. And IA, the party that led Greenland to self-government in 2009, retains its seat at the table. Both outcomes reflect a Greenland increasingly confident in asserting its own voice, even as it remains bound to Denmark through the realm.
Sources and References
The Danish Dream: Greenland Crisis Inuit Leader Issues Global Warning
The Danish Dream: Greenland Explodes at Denmark in Heated Meeting
The Danish Dream: Greenland Demands Power Shift in Arctic Talks
