Greenland's center-right Demokraatit Party won the most votes in recent parliamentary elections followed closely by a Naleraq, an even more right-leaning political party whose name means “Point of Orientation.”
Those two political parties, and several more, favor independence from Denmark but disagree on how and when that should happen in coming years.
Greenland has moved closer and closer to self-rule, and farther away from Denmark’s authority, dating back to the 1970s.
The future of the enormous ice-covered island, considered the world’s largest, has been in the news after President Trump vowed to make the nation a territory of the United States. His idea dates back to at least 2019 but was probably forgotten by many until Trump resurrected it after winning a second term.
Greenland also got a shout-out in President Trump’s address to Congress. "We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America,” he said.
Greenland is home to a tiny population, about 56,000, but its 836,000 square miles sit on top of rare earth minerals. Nuuk, founded in the 1700s, is the country's capital city and also its largest.
Greenland is also a strategic military location for NATO to keep eyes on Russia and China, and the Artic region.
Bob Maginnis, a national security analyst, tells AFN a better U.S.-Greenland alliance appears to be a “step closer” after the parliamentary elections.
“Trump will put pressure on them,” Maginnis predicts, such as plans for mining and for a stronger U.S. military presence.
A related story, published at RedState, poured cold water on some predictions that Greenland’s right-leaning political parties want to be U.S. citizens after the recent elections. Four of the five political parties want to leave Denmark behind but also want a closer alliance with Europe itself, the story said.
Leaders of the Demokraatit Party have publicly criticized Trump’s plans for their country, the story pointed out.
For his part, President Trump hasn’t given up.
"I think it'll happen," he told reporters today at the White House.
