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In normal circumstances, this election wouldn’t be of significant interest worldwide. Roughly 40,000 voters will be choosing just 31 parliamentarians on an island that isn’t even fully autonomous.

However, these are not normal times, and this election is taking place in Greenland on March 11, which means it could become a catalyst for further geopolitical instability in the Northern Hemisphere.

First, Greenland’s independence proponents hope the ballot may result in a strong mandate for the island’s complete separation from Denmark. Currently, Greenland, a former Danish colony, is a self-governing territory of Denmark.

And second, US President Donald Trump has been talking about making Greenland part of the US since he was elected last November.

Greenland’s mineral wealth

Trump frequently talks about how control of Greenland would be in the interest of US security. Since the 1950s, the US has run the Pituffik Space Base, in the northwest of Greenland.

It is the Americans’ northernmost post and plays a key role in missile warnings and space surveillance. During the Cold War, it was called the Thule Air Base and was there to send early warnings and initiate defense against potential Soviet attacks.

Other than security issues, economics might also play a part in Trump’s interest in Greenland. There are thought to be valuable deposits of oil, gas, gold, uranium, and zinc in the south of Greenland.

Thanks to climate change, which is causing the thawing of Greenland’s permafrost, mining these deposits will eventually become easier.

The Pituffik Space Base in Greenland is the US Air Force’s northernmost outpost. Established in 1951, the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland is the US Air Force’s northernmost outpost.

In 2019, Trump offered to buy Greenland. The government in Denmark swiftly rejected that.

Foreign interference?

With this and upcoming elections, Greenland has had to contend with the possibility that there could be external attempts to influence the vote, for example, from Russia or China, both of whom are also pursuing their own security agendas in the Arctic.

Denmark’s national security and intelligence service, PET, warned of Russian disinformation campaigns.

Disinformation researcher Johan Farkas at the University of Copenhagen doesn’t believe these attempts will have much impact on Greenland’s election because most locals speak Greenlandic, an Inuit language.

Political controversies

Since the beginning of the year, there have been several controversies surrounding Greenland’s upcoming election. Reports suggest that influencers from Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement distributed $100 bills in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk.

Independence from Denmark

The approximately 57,000 Greenlanders, who call themselves Kalaallit, are concerned about other issues, too, such as which mineral resources their island should be developing and which foreign partners should get concessions to do this.

The debate around mining revenues is part of the argument in favor of becoming independent from Denmark. Allowing foreign interests to mine in Greenland would make Greenland less dependent on Denmark.

Greenlandic Prime Minister Mute Egede has stated that, “We do not want to be Americans, nor Danes; we are Kalaallit. The Americans and their leader must understand that,” Egede wrote on social media. “We are not for sale and cannot be taken. Our future is determined by us in Greenland.”

Opinion polls show that the majority of Greenlanders probably want independence from Denmark, but they are undecided about when and how that should happen.

“As long as this declared US wish to take over Greenland remains, there is a risk that we may suddenly see an escalation of this kind of influence campaign,” predicts Farkas.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/greenlanders-head-to-the-polls-under-watchful-eye-of-trump/a-71864584?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf