Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is using a very respectful tone to advocate for the former colony to remain in the kingdom. This national community is constantly being improved and modernized and should be based on equality and respect, she recently said on TV2.
One example of the strained relationship between the two countries was the scandal surrounding a Danish documentary film in the middle of the election campaign. It was about the profits Denmark made over 130 years from the mineral cryolite from Greenland, although Denmark had equated sales with profits. Denmark spent weeks discussing journalistic mistakes, but in Greenland people were instead upset about how they had been exploited.
Independent, but how fast?
On the question of independence, they now have the choice between liberal-conservative supporters of the status quo, the left-wing government parties Inuit Ataqatigiit and Siumut, who want a gradual, calmly prepared independence - and those who are in a hurry, like the anti-Danish Naleraq.
Denmark promises that the Reich community will be permanently improved
The question of independence plays a role everywhere, says Mikaela Engell, who was the Danish government's representative in Greenland for a long time. But what people are specifically concerned about are the things closest to them. "Everything that is being negotiated is about how to move forward from where we are now," said Engell on Danish radio station P1. Deficiencies in the health system, high food prices, apartment buildings in need of renovation: there are problems in many areas.
And how should Greenland finance itself as an independent country? The subsidy from Denmark in 2024 was four billion krone (about 530 million euros). According to the Danish Export and Investment Institute Eifo, this is about half of Greenland's total budget. In order to put the economy more on its own feet, more mining and more tourism are being discussed, among other things.
In autumn 2024, the government commissioned a commission to investigate the exact conditions for activating Section 21. This section of the Self-Government Act of 2009 regulates the process of independence - from the official declaration of intent through negotiations with Denmark to the referendum in Greenland and recognition by the Danish parliament.
Initially, it was said that a referendum would take place in the next legislative period. But now it sounds more cautious: a decision will be made in two years after the preliminary investigations have been completed as to whether Paragraph 21 will be activated.
Denmark regulates foreign policy
Greenland regulates, among other things, the areas of education, social services, the labor market, the environment, infrastructure, postal services, energy and raw materials itself. The Danish sovereign areas include the police, foreign policy, defense, legal system and monetary policy.
Greenland already has a lot to discuss with Denmark alone, and now it also has to deal with Trump. He recently repeated his demands before the US Congress - for the first time in an official speech. In Greenland, the most notable thing was the malicious laughter in the hall when Trump said in his usual manner that they would get Greenland one way or another.
This laughter shows a fundamental lack of respect, wrote Greenland's Minister of Economic Affairs, Natural Resources and Equality Naaja Nathanielsen on Facebook. And Prime Minister Egede reiterated that Greenland decides its own future. According to a survey, 85 percent of people there have no interest in becoming part of the USA.
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