Greenland's new parliament convenes for first time amid Trump pressure
COPENHAGEN, April 7 (Reuters) - Greenland's new parliament convened for the first time on Monday after a general election in March, amid repeated expressions of interest by U.S. President Donald Trump to control the semi-autonomous Danish island.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, 33, who has called for political unity against external pressures since his Demokraatit (Democrats) party won the March election, took office as the youngest prime minister of Greenland and will face the challenges posed by Trump's ambitions.
"It has never been more important to stand together for our country and stable governance. That's why I'm happy with this broad coalition with 75% of the votes," Nielsen said, according to Greenlandic broadcaster KNR.
Nielsen said last week Greenland would strengthen ties with Denmark, calling it "Greenland's closest partner", until the Arctic island could become a sovereign nation. He noted that the semi-autonomous Danish territory ultimately wishes to become independent.
The pro-business Democrats Party, which favours a slow march to independence, emerged as the winner last month in a general election, tripling its representation to 10 seats. The party said it would form a coalition government with three other parties.
The coalition, which spans much of the political spectrum, represents 23 of the 31 parliamentary seats. The Naleraq party, a staunch pro-independence party that doubled its seats to eight in the election, will not be part of the coalition.
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The Guardian
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The Independent
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Republicans, meanwhile, are casting blame for economic hardships on Democrats who have run state government for the last eight years. New Jersey has been reliably Democratic in Senate and presidential contests for decades. But the odd-year races for governor have tended to swing back and forth, and each of the last three Republican governors has won a second term. Democrats have the largest share of registered voters in the state, followed closely by independent voters and then Republicans, who have roughly 800,000 fewer registrations than the Democratic party. But the GOP has made gains in recent years, shaving the Democrats' lead of more than 1m more registrations to the current level.
