Today news
2025-02-04 19:53:00
Greenland will hold a general election on 11 March, its prime minister has announced, amid renewed interest from the US president, Donald Trump, in the Arctic territory.
The upcoming election campaign is expected to revolve around Greenland’s independence aspirations, the development of the island’s fragile economy and relations with Denmark and the US.
“We are in the midst of a serious time. A time that we have never experienced in our country. This is not the time for internal division,” the prime minister, Múte Egede, said in a social media post that did not mention Trump.
Greenland’s parliament later unanimously approved his proposal for the 11 March election.
Trump in December renewed his wish to control the strategically important island and did not rule out using military or economic power to achieve this.
A semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, Greenland has said it is open for business but that it does not wish to be part of the US.
It was due to hold parliamentary elections before 6 April.
Denmark has ruled the island for centuries. Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953 and has since gained broad autonomy, including the right to declare independence, although Copenhagen remains responsible for Greenland’s security and foreign policy.
A majority of Greenlanders would vote for independence if such a referendum were held now, a recent survey by pollster Verian, commissioned by the Danish newspaper Berlingske and Greenlandic daily Sermitsiaq, showed.
About 28% said they would vote against independence.
The island holds vast untapped mineral resources but its economy depends on fishing and annual grants from Denmark.
The poll also showed that 45% of people would not want independence if the standard of living was negatively affected, highlighting that the future path towards it remains unclear.
