Greenland Casts Early Votes in Elections as Trump’s Interest Initiates Independence Discussion

Trump’s involvement in the area has influenced the independence issue in Greenland, which has affected the outcome of the legislative election.

As Greenland, a large Arctic island with a small population, holds carefully awaited early parliamentary elections on Tuesday, the capital city’s lone polling site is prepared. According to US President Donald Trump, he intends to seize control of the area, which is strategically located in the North Atlantic and has rare earth materials that are essential to the world economy.

Although they are not on the ballot, everyone is thinking about Trump’s overtures.

There are 56,000 people living in this autonomous area of Denmark, the majority of whom are Indigenous Inuit. Since at least 2009, it has been moving toward independence. Greenlanders are currently discussing how to guarantee that they have influence over their future.

Pipaluk Lynge, a member of parliament from the ruling Inuit Ataqatigiit, or United Inuit party, stated, “I believe that Trump’s interest has scared most of us since the new year.” “So, in order to secure our sovereign nation, we are really, really looking to Europe right now to see if we could establish a stronger bond with them.”

According to polls, the majority of Greenlanders support independence.

Given their positive ties with the nearby Pituffik Space Base, previously Thule Air Force Base, where US military personnel have been stationed since 1951, the majority said they don’t despise Americans.

However, there is no indication that Greenlanders wish to become Americans. Even some of Trump’s most ardent supporters adhere to the idea that individuals need to be in charge of their own fate. Among them is Gerth Josefsen, a 53-year-old Nuuk fisherman who is pleased to have visited Trump’s Florida estate of Mar-a-Lago and wears a MAGA cap.

“Greenland is open for business, but not for sale,” is their motto.

Doris Jensen, who represents the social democratic Siumut party, stated that she has always supported independence, saying, “The world and Trump have changed the situation, so we have decided in our party that we have to do it more quickly.”

Trump’s focus has changed the very local democratic process. The fact that journalists are present from places as far afield as Croatia and Japan serves as a sudden reminder that these are not regular times.

Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede was met by roughly 75 supporters following the candidates’ final televised debate at a Nuuk school auditorium. However, photographers and cameramen nearly outnumbered them.

“We find all of these reporters to be frightening,” stated Aviaja Sinkbaek, a school employee. “It implies that something must occur shortly.”

“I wonder what Trump has up his sleeve,” she continued.

Greenland politics move to a different beat.

Campaign debates hardly ever became heated.

People were instructed to go outside if they got too animated. Building a qualified crew and decorating the new airport, which opened a runway big enough to accommodate jumbo jets in November, were among the challenges.

Political parties will set up tents outside the Nuuk sports hall, the capital’s only polling place, on Tuesday. In an attempt to influence voters, campaigners will distribute hot beverages and Greenlandic cake, a raisin-laced bread with butter.

The roughly 20,000-person community will be circled by a bus that provides trips.

Since ballots must be transported to the capital from outlying communities by boat, airplane, and helicopter, unofficial election results won’t be certified for weeks after polls close.

This is due to the lack of highways that connect settlements throughout the 2.16 million square kilometers (836,330 square miles) of Greenland, the 12th largest country in the world.

The enormous size has now attracted excessive attention.

Greenlanders are aware of their possessions. In an economy where 40% of jobs are in government, they hope the rare earth minerals will contribute to economic diversification.

However, the government has put in place stringent regulations to safeguard the island’s ecosystem, the majority of which is permanently covered in ice. It is unclear if it is commercially viable to remove them due to the severe atmospheric conditions.

Over the weekend, hurricane-force gusts prompted advisories to securely tie down boats and construction gear. Locals fled to their houses to play board games while the wind howled like a jet engine.