Greenland’s candidates competing for two seats in Denmark’s election next week hope to leverage the unprecedented attention brought to their island by U.S. President Donald Trump to wrangle concessions from its former colonial power.
Trump’s ambitions for the U.S. to acquire Greenland have drawn sharp focus on the Arctic island of 57,000 people, exposing longstanding questions about the level of Danish investment, infrastructure and economic development.
Greenland’s Grievances
“The most important thing for us in this election is the sovereignty of the Greenlandic people,” said Juno Berthelsen, 43, running for the opposition and pro-independence Naleraq party.
Naleraq, meaning point of orientation in the local Kalaallisut language, is fielding five candidates during this election to vie for two seats in the Danish National Assembly representing Greenland, a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.
While many Greenlanders believe Naleraq’s calls for a quick separation from Copenhagen are premature or wrong, some see Trump’s demands for more control as leverage to pressure Denmark over long-standing grievances.
With a major show of power competing in the region and melting ice opening up new shipping routes and natural resources, Greenland’s strategic importance is clear, and Copenhagen finds itself having to prove its worth as a partner. Any perception of neglect could justify Trump’s case for an intervention.
Many Greenlanders accuse Denmark of holding back economic independence and failing to protect more than 17,000 Greenlanders living in Denmark from discrimination.
Anna Wangenheim, Greenland’s health minister and a candidate for Demokraatit, the party of Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said Trump’s pressure had forced an overdue reckoning.
Policy Proposals And Renegotiations
For Aage Josefsen, a 55-year-old bus driver in the capital Nuuk, the election comes down to a simple question: who actually speaks for Greenland? “The Greenlandic government should have more say in meetings, instead of Denmark just speaking on Greenland’s behalf,” he said.
Policy proposals put forward by the candidates include creating a coastal surveillance force drawn from local fishermen and hunters, restructuring the fishing economy to retain value within Greenland and ensuring the Danes receive more education about the Island in school.
Other demands include a renegotiation of the 1951 defence agreement between Denmark and the U.S., which excludes Greenland’s input.
Frederikson May Lose Majority
Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark, faces a tight race due to the frustration citizens express over rising living costs and welfare pressures.
Some analysts believe that Fredrickson will struggle to win a majority in the next parliament, the Folketing, and any small-grouping votes, including Greenland candidates, may be crucial to her ability to retain power.
According to Ane Lone Bagger of the Siumut Party, Trump’s pressure has changed Danish attitudes towards Greenland. Last year, Denmark also apologised to thousands of Greenlandic women subjected to involuntary birth control practices between the 1960s and 1991.
That shift in tone from Copenhagen has been embodied by Frederiksen, who has positioned herself as Greenland’s staunchest defender, travelling repeatedly to the island and rallying European leaders against U.S. pressure. She has also been explicit that Greenland’s future is for Greenlanders alone to decide.
(With inputs from Reuters)
