Greenland will hold elections on Tuesday to renew its local parliament, the Inatsisartut. This vote has garnered unprecedented attention, as it could determine the future of the icy island, an autonomous territory of Denmark. U.S. President Donald Trump has been determined to acquire Greenland “one way or another.” While the election campaign does not explicitly mention a “transfer of ownership” from Copenhagen to Washington, the main message is clear: “We are not for sale, we want independence”—or at least greater autonomy. For Trump, Greenland has been an obsession since his first term in the White House. The island’s strategic position, 800 kilometers from the North Pole, offers both military and commercial advantages. It is at the crossroads of new Arctic shipping routes emerging due to the melting polar ice caps. Competing global powers like Russia, China, and India are vying for influence over the region. Trump is particularly drawn to Greenland‘s vast, largely untapped underground resources. The island is rich in hydrocarbons—gas, oil, and coal—as well as valuable metals and rare earth elements like neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium, yttrium, and europium, which are crucial for many technological applications. Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, has effectively become a strategic hub in the “Great Polar Game.” Independence is a key issue for both Inuit Ataqatigiit, the social-democratic party of current Prime Minister Múte Egede, and Naleraq, the main opposition party. They differ mainly on how fast to negotiate a break from the Danish crown and hold a referendum—should it take four years or ten Leaders of the Siumut party, part of the ruling coalition, are even more ambitious, proposing a referendum as early as next month.
