Opposition win Greenland election

[IndianaGreen]

Source: BBC News

Opposition win Greenland election

Page last updated at 05:01 GMT, Wednesday, 3 June 2009 06:01 UK

The left-wing Inuit Ataqatigiit (Community of the People, IA) party has won Greenland's parliamentary elections, official results show.

The party ousted the Social Democratic Suimut Party, which has governed the territory for 30 years.

With all districts counted, the IA had nearly 44% of the vote and Suimut just over 26%, the election commission said.

IA will be the first party to govern the semi-autonomous Danish territory under an expanded home rule agreement.

IA leader Kuupik Kleist told supporters celebrating in the capital Nuuk: "Greenland deserves this."

Current Prime Minister Hans Enoksen had called the election early, after Greenland voters approved plans in November to give their government more powers.

He said he had wanted to give islanders the chance to decide who would be leading them into the "new era".

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8080434.stm

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Why homerule is becoming important in Greenland? OIL!

December 27, 2007

Geologists believe known reserves off Greenland could be just tip of iceberg

Robin Pagnamenta and Peter Stiff

Geologists believe that deep beneath the Arctic seas lie untapped reserves of oil and gas. These icy waters are among the world’s most treacherous and the source of the iceberg that sank the Titanic in 1912. With temperatures plunging below -30C in winter and immersed in total darkness for months at a time, it is hard to imagine a more hostile environment.

These days, however, it is not just huge icebergs that loom large on the horizon, but the powerful forces of Big Oil. With oil prices close to $100 a barrel, the economics of such high-risk and technically difficult ventures are beginning to look attractive.

ExxonMobil, the world’s largest oil company, and Chevron of the US, Husky and Encana of Canada, Dong of Denmark and the UK’s Cairn Energy are among those that have either already won or applied for exploration licences from Greenland’s Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum for acreage.

“We’re (10-15) years from realising the area’s potential (but) it looks like an excellent offshore opportunity,” said Graham White, a spokesman for Husky Energy, which this summer started prospecting for oil on two large blocks more than 100 km offshore of Disko Bay, off the northwest coast near Greenland’s tiny capital of Nuuk.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article3097509.ece

[Chulanowa]

1. The good and the bad...

First the good. I would personally welcome a truly independent Native-majority state in the Western Hemisphere.

Then the bad. These people, should they achieve that independence, will lose it almost immediately to the corporatist clutches of the IMF and World Bank, to say nothing of the petroleum companies banging on their door.

In all honesty if Greenland is going to part from Denmark, they would be much better off signing up with Canada

[New Dawn]

4. K&R

Edit: I was responding to the original post.

[the intelligent gay]

2. fantastic

the politics of indigeneity have paid off :applause:

[David__77]

3. IA is a communist party. Left-wing ideas are coming to the fore internationally.

Pro-socialism forces are coming to power all around the world.

[ohio2007]

5. What was the popular vote totals ?

What did 30 % vote ? 'no confidence'? Thats almost a third

the IA had nearly 44% of the vote and Suimut just over 26%

How many voters live in Greenland ?

[IndianaGreen]

6. Greenland has 39,000 voters

The BBC website doesn't have vote totals, but since these were parliamentary elections there might be a vote count by constituency.

Greenland is the world's largest island - larger than all of Europe combined - but has just 39,000 eligible voters.

Last year, Greenlanders approved plans to give their government more powers.

<snip>

Greenland's current Prime Minister, Hans Enoksen, called the election early, as he said he had wanted to give islanders the chance to decide who would be leading them into the "new era".

But the election drums had actually been beating for some time.

A series of financial scandals involving leading members of the governing Social Democratic Siumut Party have become increasingly embarrassing for Mr Enoksen's administration.

That, coupled with extensive social problems - widespread violence and alcoholism, too few schools, and even fewer hospitals and medical staff - have meant that the population has become increasingly disenchanted with its current political leadership.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8078639.stm

[quakerboy]

7. as many as 58 people live there

according to most of the articles I just read. I had the same question. And also, if the IA is a left party, and the Suimut are Social Democrats who are a "consultative member of the Socialist International", how do you know who do root for?

The proportions of the vote are listed below on wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenlandic_parliamentary_election,_2009

Apparently the Center right party pulled a whole 11%, and the democrats another 13%.


I know very little about Greenland's politics, but the first thing that struck me is that there does not seem to be a right wing. Theres a left party(new winners), a center left party(just lost), a liberal party(the democrats), a Center right party, and about 4% of independants and 1% other. Do they just describe it different? How can a country exist without 25% crazys who hate everyone else who isn't as pure as they pretend to be?

[IndianaGreen]

8. They probably don't get Faux News or Rush Limbaugh in Greenland

which is why they lack that 25% of crazies that hate everyone.