Brussels – Greenland will hold the upcoming legislative elections amid unprecedented geopolitical tension, trying to limit the risks of outside influence in its democratic processes. In the face of more or less direct threats from Donald Trump, the Inuit people reiterate that they are not interested in exchanging one “colonizer” for another, while Copenhagen is working to improve surveillance in the Arctic region.
Towards the election
On Tuesday (Feb. 4), the Inatsisartut, the island’s single-chamber parliament, unanimously approved the calling of legislative elections for Mar. 11. On the same day, it also adopted a law that bans foreign funding to parties as it seeks to avoid undue influence in the upcoming election campaign and “to safeguard the political integrity of Greenland.”
The last elections were in April 2021 (MPs’ terms are for four years). Currently, the government led by Prime Minister Múte Egede holds 22 of the total 31 seats. The centrist-left majority comprises the 12 deputies from Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA), the premier’s party, plus 10 from Siumut. Both formations support independence, but while the former (which advocates a nationalist position from the left) fights for a breakaway from the Danish crown as quickly as possible, the Social Democrats are pushing for a step-by-step breakaway.
Greenland has been under the control of the Kingdom of Denmark since 1721. From 1814 to 1953, it was a colony of Copenhagen, while in 1979, it became an autonomous territory. Since 2009, Nuuk (Greenland’s capital) has had the right to declare independence. Denmark is responsible for guaranteeing the island’s security, which, despite its extensive autonomy, has no voice in foreign policy.
In all likelihood, the election campaign will hinge primarily on independence. Over time, a growing portion of Greenland’s population (which totals less than 57,000 inhabitants) has been advocating separation from Copenhagen, but numerous practical obstacles remain, primarily economic ones. However, the recent aggressive statements by the newly-elected US President Donald Trump reignited the issue with urgency.
Trump and Greenland
Just a month ago, the New York tycoon said that he could not rule out the use of “military or economic coercion” to gain control of the territory, taking a step further than ideas he mentioned during his first term about “buying” the Arctic island from Denmark.
“We are in the midst of a serious period, a time we have never experienced in our country,” Premier Egede wrote on social media. “This is not the time for internal divisions,” he added. Previously, in response to Trump’s statements, he had stressed that “Greenland is ours” and that the sovereignty of the Arctic territory is not for sale.
According to a late January poll, 84 percent of Greenlanders would vote in favor of separation from the Danish crown if there were a referendum, while 85 percent do not want to leave Copenhagen to end up under Washington’s control. However, when asked to choose between Danish citizenship and US citizenship, preferences for the former stand at 55 percent, while those for the latter stop at 8 percent.
Regarding the interest shown by the new (so to speak) White House tenant for Greenland, the situation is tied: 43 percent consider it “an opportunity,” while 45 percent see it as “a threat.”
Although the Arctic island has large untapped mineral deposits (which appeal as much in Washington as to Brussels), its economy depends mainly on fishing and subsidies from Denmark. The survey highlights that 45 percent of respondents would vote for independence only if it does not produce “negative impacts” on their standard of living.
The Inuit response
The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) – the body representing the Inuit populations of Alaska, Canada, Chukotka (the eastern-most region of Russia, separated from Alaska by the Bering Strait), and Greenland (where they make up almost 90 percent of the population) – recently said that “there is no such thing as the better colonizer,” stressing that its members do not intend “to discuss which state is better or worse to live in. Rather, we want to debate how we improve Inuit lives, livelihoods, wellbeing, and self-determination across all our regions.”
“We recognize and are acutely aware that the current geopolitical situation is challenging, but times have changed since Inuit lands were mere commodities that could be bought and sold,” the ICC said. “In today’s world, we are active participants in decision-making about our lands and resources,” it added. “We are beyond the times of typical colonial attitudes of superiority,” the ICC statement added.”We will not let ourselves be divided by state interests,” it concluded.
Copenaghen runs for cover
After all, the aggressiveness of the US President has opened more than a few eyes in Copenhagen as well. Historically far from integrationist, the Danish government now seems to be reconsidering the benefits of joining an EU capable of standing up for itself. “We need a stronger and more resolute Europe standing increasingly in its own right, capable of defending and promoting Europe and the European interests,” said PM Mette Frederiksen on Jan. 28.
Earlier today PM Mette Frederiksen met with @Federal Chancellor in Berlin to discuss stronger European cooperation. Important to continue close German-Danish coordination pic.twitter.com/jpPYA4HP57
– Ministry of State (@Statsmin) January 28, 2025
“We have to take more responsibility for own security,” she added, speaking at a joint press conference with outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who stressed that “Borders should not be moved by force.”
Done: In the past few days, Copenhagen announced a 14.6 billion kroner (just under 1.96 billion euros) plan with Greenland and the Faroe Islands — an archipelago that is also Danish, which lies between Scotland and Iceland – to “improve surveillance and sovereignty protection” in the regions concerned, including the use of three new icebreaker ships to transport helicopters and drones and improved satellite monitoring in the Arctic area.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
