Tuesday’s legislative elections in Greenland, the Danish self-governing province that US President Donald Trump has long desired, could result in a schedule for independence that is favored by the majority of the populace.
Trump, determined to get his hands on the vast Arctic island “one way or the other”, tried until the last minute to influence the election, sparking astonishment, rejection, and, to a small degree, enthusiasm among the 57,000 Greenlanders.
“He puts the focus of Greenland back in international relations, like everyone’s focusing on it. So in that way, it’s good,” said Hans Kaali Davidsen, a resident of Nuuk, the capital, under a glacial rainfall.
But, he stressed, “Trump himself, the way he’s been handling his own politics and his own country and how everything’s shaping up in the US — no, we don’t want him.”
Debates on topics including healthcare, education, and future ties with Denmark—which still controls foreign, defense, and monetary policy—dominated the run-up to the election to select the 31-seat parliament, known as the Inatsisartut.
Nearly 90% of Greenland’s population is Inuit, and they say they’re sick of their former colonial authority treating them like second-class citizens.
Although they dispute on the timeline, all of the major political parties want independence.
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