The US wants Denmark to cede the strategically significant island.
According to an opinion poll, nearly half of Greenlanders believe that US President Donald Trump’s interest in their Arctic island, a semi-autonomous Danish colony, is a threat, and 85% of them do not want their island to join the US.
Earlier this month, Trump declared that Denmark should cede sovereignty of the strategically significant island of Greenland because it was essential to US security.
Only 6% of Greenlanders support their island joining the US, according to a study conducted by pollster Verian on behalf of the Danish newspaper Berlingske and the Greenlandic daily Sermitsiaq. The remaining 9% are unsure.
Thirteen percent were unsure, while forty-five percent saw Trump’s interest in Greenland as a threat and forty-three percent saw it as an opportunity.
Greenland benefits from many of the same welfare programs as Denmark, including free public education and universal healthcare.
Of those surveyed, 55% stated they would like to be Danish, 37% were unsure, and only 8% said they would be willing to switch from Danish to American citizenship.
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Following discussions with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen declared on Tuesday that she fully supports the idea of upholding respect for international borders.
“I’m happy to hear from the study that a lot of Greenlanders want to see Denmark and Greenland continue to work closely together. In reaction to the poll, she told Berlingske, “It’s likely in a different form than what we know today, because everything changes over time.”
On Monday, Denmark announced that it would increase its military presence in the Arctic by spending 14.6 billion crowns ($2.04 billion).
With a population of 57,000 and a land area larger than Mexico, Greenland was given extensive self-governing powers in 2009, including the ability to hold a referendum to declare its independence from Denmark.
Prime Minister Mute Egede of Greenland, who has intensified his campaign for independence, has stated over and again that the island is not for sale and that its citizens should make the final decisions.
Since the shortest path from Europe to North America passes across the island, the US military maintains a permanent presence at the Pituffik Space Base in northwest Greenland, a key position for its ballistic missile early-warning system.
