Greenland is hosting national elections for its parliament on Tuesday, the vote coming amid growing national demands for independence from Denmark and massive global attention over President Donald Trump’s offer to make it part of the United States.
Six political parties are vying for dominance in the Greenland elections today, choosing the composition of the next Inatsisartut (parliament) in a vote that seems all but certain to made independence for the Arctic island from its European parent state a certainty.
Going into the election, both of the left-wing social democrat coalition ruling parties are pro-independence, as is the populist opposition, Naleraq. As noted by The Guardian, Naleraq is perhaps the most openly pro-American of the parties on the ballot and it is polled to pick up more seats, although still probably not enough to form a coalition government to replace the left.
President Trump’s overtures to Greenland, just the latest instance of the United States offering to buy or otherwise acquire the island over the past 200 years, are the elephant in the room of this election, not officially on the ballot but universally considered.
Last week President Trump said in an ad-libbed aside during his address to Congress of Greenland: “One way or the other, we’re going to get it”. Over the weekend he said the United States would invest billions into Greenland and create jobs if the country decided to join America, saying they would be welcomed.
Greenland has taken on a new dimension of importance as powerful nations have begun jostling over the north in a so-called rush for the Arctic. Part of this is about the control of strategic waterways, and another about resources, including rare earths. Control of the United Kingdom, Iceland, and Greenland are essential for dominating the North Atlantic and preventing the movement of Russian warships from their northern bases.
The election results are not due to be known for days, as ballots make their way to the capital for counting from remote settlements across the vast, frozen island.
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