Greenland’s next leaders face uncertain path to independence: Commentary
Greenland is holding a national election on March 11 that will largely serve as a referendum on the government’s approach to securing independence from Denmark.
Although the six national political parties vying for seats in Greenland’s 31-seat parliament all nominally support independence, their views diverge about how quickly to begin the formal process of leaving the Kingdom.
Section 21 of the Self-Government Act – the Danish legislation underpinning the legal relationship between the two countries – obligates Greenland and Denmark to broker an agreement regarding the introduction of independence for Greenland, to be followed by a national referendum on the agreement.
Most parties, including the two forming the current coalition government, generally favor a measured approach to securing independence in the coming years while addressing the innumerable demographic, social and economic challenges facing Greenlandic society.
Two parties, Naleraq and Qulleq, are seeking a mandate to immediately begin pursuing independence negotiations with Denmark.
Debates among candidates are playing out beneath the dark cloud of President Trump’s March 4 statements to Congress about his administration’s intentions to absorb Greenland into the United States, “one way or the other.”
Greenland’s Prime Minister, Mute Egede, stated in response that Greenlanders do not want to be Americans.
According to a January poll, up to 85 percent of Greenlanders do not want to become part of America. According to the same poll, 56 percent would vote in favor of independence if a vote were held today.
Trump’s statements are being taken seriously here as Greenlanders, along with the rest of the world, watch an increasingly unhinged and volatile administration trash its allies, conduct a Soviet-style purge of federal agencies, and embrace authoritarian rule.
Attitudes among many voters toward Denmark have also shifted in recent weeks as relations between Greenland and Denmark continue to sour, further consolidating support for independence.
In February, Denmark’s national broadcaster, DR, chose to censor a Greenlandic-directed documentary that the broadcaster produced and aired about the profits Denmark generated from a cryolite mine in South Greenland between the 1860s to the 1980s.
Many elected officials and others in Greenland who were previously unaware of details surrounding the mine were outraged. In response, the broadcaster retroactively contested the estimated value of extracted cryolite cited in the documentary, scrubbed it from its website, and fired the editor who oversaw the project.
Days later, a “satire” show broadcast by DR sought to make light of the incident in a racist, epithet-laced episode that featured a Danish woman in brown face playing the part of a Greenlandic buffoon. The broadcaster defended the integrity of the content.
Hundreds joined protests in Nuuk on February 27 in response to these incidents, calling for an end to Danish discrimination.
Many voters therefore find themselves mulling an extremely uncertain future, typified by a potential, hostile American takeover and the growing sense that Denmark seems unlikely to ever embrace or respect Greenlanders as equals.
However, it isn’t lost on the more moderate political parties here that up to a quarter of the total Greenland-born population – up to 17,000 people – now call Denmark home, a testament to the social and economic challenges that come with living in Greenland for many families.
Those elected to form a government this month will therefore be tasked not only with navigating an uncertain path to independence but must also find ways to slow the steady stream of Greenlanders fleeing this country, and to convince Greenlanders to return home that have the education and skills needed to help build a more self-reliant country.
Tim Aqukkasuk Argetsinger is Iñupiaq from Anchorage, Alaska, with roots in Kotzebue and Deering. He has lived with his family in Nuuk, Greenland, since 2019.
