{"id":418105,"date":"2025-02-06T13:23:41","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T12:23:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2025\/02\/06\/groenlandia-elezioni-indipendenza-trump\/"},"modified":"2025-02-06T15:31:33","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T14:31:33","slug":"greenland-elections-in-march-amid-concerns-of-interference-and-invasion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2025\/02\/06\/greenland-elections-in-march-amid-concerns-of-interference-and-invasion\/","title":{"rendered":"Greenland: elections in March amid concerns of interference (and invasion)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels – Greenland<\/strong>\u00a0will hold\u00a0the upcoming legislative elections<\/strong>\u00a0amid\u00a0unprecedented geopolitical tension,<\/strong>\u00a0trying to limit the risks of outside influence<\/strong> 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,<\/strong>\u00a0while\u00a0Copenhagen is working to improve surveillance<\/strong> in the Arctic region.<\/p>\n

Towards the election<\/h3>\n

On Tuesday (Feb. 4), the Inatsisartut<\/i><\/strong>, the island’s single-chamber parliament, unanimously approved<\/a> the calling of legislative elections for\u00a0Mar. 11<\/strong>. On the same day, it also adopted a law<\/a> that bans foreign funding to parties<\/strong>\u00a0as it seeks to avoid undue influence in the upcoming election campaign and “to\u00a0safeguard the political integrity of Greenland<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

The last elections\u00a0were\u00a0in April 2021 (MPs’ terms are for four years).\u00a0Currently, the government led by Prime Minister M\u00fate Egede<\/strong> holds 22 of the total 31 seats. The centrist-left majority<\/strong> comprises the 12 deputies from Inuit Ataqatigiit<\/i> (IA)<\/strong>, the premier’s party, plus 10 from Siumut<\/i><\/strong>. Both formations support\u00a0independence<\/strong>, but while the former (which advocates a nationalist position from the left) fights for a breakaway from the Danish crown as quickly as possible<\/strong>, the Social Democrats are pushing for a step-by-step<\/strong> breakaway.<\/p>\n

\"M\u00fate<\/a>
Greenland’s Prime Minister M\u00fate Egede and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen hold a joint press conference in Copenhagen, January 10, 2025 (photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen\/Afp)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Greenland has been under the control of the Kingdom of Denmark <\/strong>since 1721. From 1814 to 1953, it was a colony of Copenhagen,<\/strong> while in 1979, it became an autonomous territory.<\/strong> Since 2009, Nuuk (Greenland’s capital) has had\u00a0the right to declare independence.<\/strong> Denmark is responsible for guaranteeing the island’s security<\/strong>, which, despite its extensive autonomy, has no voice in foreign policy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In all likelihood, the election campaign will hinge<\/strong> primarily on\u00a0independence<\/strong>. Over time, a growing portion of\u00a0 Greenland’s population<\/strong> (which totals less than 57,000 inhabitants) has been advocating\u00a0separation from Copenhagen, but\u00a0numerous practical obstacles <\/strong>remain,\u00a0<\/strong>primarily\u00a0economic ones. However,\u00a0the recent aggressive statements\u00a0by\u00a0the newly-elected US\u00a0President Donald Trump<\/strong> reignited the issue with urgency.<\/p>\n

Trump and Greenland<\/h3>\n

Just a month ago, the New York tycoon said<\/a> that he could not rule out the use of “military or economic coercion” to gain control of the territory<\/strong>, taking a step further than ideas he mentioned during his first term about\u00a0“buying” the Arctic island from Denmark<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

“We are in the midst of a serious period<\/strong>, a time we have never experienced in our country,” Premier Egede\u00a0wrote on social media. “This is not the time for internal divisions<\/strong>,” he added. Previously, in response to Trump’s statements, he had stressed that “Greenland is ours<\/strong>” and that the sovereignty of the Arctic territory is not for sale<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

According to a late January poll, 84 percent of Greenlanders would vote in favor of separation<\/strong> from the Danish crown\u00a0if there were a referendum<\/a>, while 85 percent do not want<\/strong> to leave Copenhagen to end up under Washington’s<\/strong> control. However, when asked to choose between Danish citizenship <\/strong>and US citizenship, preferences for the former stand at 55 percent,<\/strong> while those for the latter stop at 8 percent.<\/p>\n

\"Donald<\/a>
Unites States President Donald Trump (photo: Imagoeconomica)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Regarding the interest shown<\/strong> by the new (so to speak) White House tenant<\/strong> for Greenland, the situation\u00a0is tied: 43 percent<\/strong> consider it “an opportunity<\/strong>,” while 45 percent<\/strong>\u00a0see it as\u00a0“a threat<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

Although the Arctic island has large untapped mineral deposits\u00a0<\/strong>(which appeal<\/a> as much in Washington as to\u00a0Brussels), its economy depends mainly on fishing and subsidies from Denmark<\/strong>. The survey highlights that 45 percent<\/strong> of respondents would vote for independence only if it does not produce “negative impacts” on their standard of living<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Inuit response<\/h3>\n

The Inuit Circumpolar Council<\/i> (ICC<\/strong>) – the body representing the Inuit populations of Alaska<\/strong>, Canada<\/strong>, Chukotka<\/strong> (the eastern-most region of Russia, separated from Alaska by the Bering Strait), and Greenland<\/strong> (where they make up almost 90 percent of the population<\/strong>) – recently said<\/a> that “there is no such thing as the better colonizer,<\/strong>” 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.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

“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,<\/strong>” the ICC said. “In today\u2019s world, we are active participants in decision-making about our lands and resources,” it added.\u00a0“We are beyond the times of typical colonial attitudes of superiority<\/strong>,” the ICC statement\u00a0added.”We will not let ourselves be divided by state interests,<\/strong>” it concluded.<\/p>\n

Copenaghen runs for cover<\/h3>\n

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<\/strong> capable of standing up for itself. “We need a stronger and more resolute Europe <\/strong>standing increasingly in its own right, capable of defending and promoting Europe and the European interests,” said<\/a> PM Mette Frederiksen<\/strong>\u00a0on Jan. 28.<\/p>\n

\n

Earlier today PM Mette Frederiksen met with @Federal Chancellor<\/a> in Berlin to discuss stronger European cooperation. Important to continue close German-Danish coordination pic.twitter.com\/jpPYA4HP57<\/a><\/p>\n

– Ministry of State (@Statsmin) January 28, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“We have to take more responsibility for\u00a0own security<\/strong>,” she added, speaking at a joint press conference with outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz<\/strong>, who stressed that “Borders should not be moved by force<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

Done: In the past few days, Copenhagen\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0a\u00a014.6 billion kroner<\/strong> (just under 1.96 billion euros) plan with Greenland<\/strong> and the Faroe Islands<\/strong> — an archipelago that is\u00a0also Danish, which lies between Scotland and Iceland – to “improve surveillance and sovereignty protection<\/strong>” 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The appointment for the renewal of the Nuuk Parliament comes at a particularly complex time for world geopolitics. Rather than a change of “colonizer,” Greenlanders seem to be aiming for independence, but there is still a long way to go<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7876,"featured_media":418101,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":""},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25681],"tags":[25816,26411,30141,30377,29418,30378,29422,26326],"class_list":["post-418105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-greenland","tag-independence-en","tag-mette-frederiksen-and","tag-mute-egede-and","tag-referendum-en-2","tag-states-united-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7876"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=418105"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":418128,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418105\/revisions\/418128"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/418101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=418105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=418105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}