(Adnkronos) – Greenlanders may soon vote in a referendum to declare independence from Denmark. This is the idea of Erik Jensen, leader of the Siumut Social Democrats, who are clearly favored in the vote on March 11.
The leader of the ruling party has stated that, if re-elected, he will accelerate the independence process by activating Section 21 of Greenland’s Self-Government Act to negotiate the terms of a future relationship and hold a referendum on independence in the next legislature. Jensen admitted in some media interviews that Trump’s intervention indirectly contributed to this decision. The spokesperson for the Siumut, Doris Jakobsen Jensen, instead criticized the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, for her “lonely race” in Europe after Trump’s words, with which she would have ignored the will of Greenland.
However, the process could encounter many political and bureaucratic complications. For example, under the current agreement, Denmark pays the territory a grant of 4.3 billion kroner (580 million euros). According to a recent poll conducted by Berlingske and the Greenlandic daily Sermitsiaq, the vast majority of Greenlanders expect the payment to continue even after independence. But does Denmark agree? For now, Copenhagen refuses to comment “out of respect for the electoral process.”
