It’s clear that, while elections around the globe are invariably of consequence, some carry more weight than others. Until this week, Greenland’s elections seldom garnered the geopolitical attention they now receive.
After Donald Trump’s Congress address on 4 March, which recommended the US acquire the Danish-owned island for national security interests, all eyes turned to Greenlanders as they headed to the polls Tuesday. The vote will set the tone for further geopolitical implications of US interest.
The opposition centre-right party, the Democrats, garnered nearly 30 per cent of the votes, while the Naleraq party, pro-independence from Denmark and open to US collaboration, came in second with 24.5 per cent. The message from Greenland after the results seems to be ‘Thanks, but no thanks.’ The elections were won on domestic issues, and the priority for Greenland’s new government seems to be focusing on the people of Greenland and eventual independence from Denmark. It’s hard to say prior to potential coalitions what the government’s next move will be regarding the US. One thing is clear : the results of the votes are inconsequential in Donald Trump’s mind, who has shown today he is willing to get creative to put the territory under US control, telling NATO secretary Mark Rutte that the US absolutely needed the island.
Trump’s newest approach to geopolitics has little time for soft power, interdependence and trade, as shown by his emboldened claims about buying Greenland, his tariffs war on Canada, and his threats to back out of NATO. His ventures into Greenland and suggestions of using force to acquire the territory could have dangerous consequences for NATO and Article V. What might happen, however, when the attack is between member states; both the US and Denmark are signatories to the Alliance.
While the message coming out of Greenland for now seems to be a call for eventual independence from Denmark without the American intervention, Donald Trump’s increasingly aggressive insistence that the island must come under US control threatens to chip away at the foundations of the international system.
Rutte’s mission in the White House today – to convince Trump to maintain NATO commitments while politely refusing to engage into Greenland talks – will do little to reassure Western Allies. While Greenlanders may have said no today, President Trump and the United States are not known to take no for an answer.
“Greater USA (+Canada+Greenland+Panama Canal Zone)” by Nagihuin is licensed under CC BY 4.0.