The air inside the community room in the capital of Greenland was full of heat, a welcome contrast with the frozen roads outside. While the voters brushed the snow from their coats, the candidates of most of the main parties of Greenland sat down in the front of the room, ready for questions.
Each place was full, two dozen international journalists flanked the walls and a man in a black and gray sweater went on to the microphone.
“Why is managing a small business still so difficult?” He asked for his constant but impatient voice.
The cameras clicked and so they made the strap-on tips that several journalists wore on their boots to avoid slipping on ice.
“You have to remove them,” said the moderator. “They are ruining the floor.”
With some grumbling, the peaks detached themselves.
Tuesday, Greenlander will extinguish their vote in what must be the most closely elections that this island has ever kept, while President Trump still says and again that he wants the United States to suffer Greenland. He refused to exclude the strength and, in his recent speech to the congress, he made an appeal directed to the Greenish themselves, promising: “We will make you rich”. All the attention he paid attracted a wave of journalists, diplomats, influencers of social media and investors in the Arctic.
The main political parties of Greenland are presenting different visions for the future and some are pushing for a new relationship with the United States and rapid independence from Denmark, which colonized Greenland hundreds of years ago and still controls some of his business.
But for many of the 56,000 residents of Greenland – a small population on the largest island in the world – geopolitics is not a priority. At the recent debate on the Town Hall and in the interviews with the voters, Greenlander has expressed many more prosaic concerns, often on living costs, unemployment, schools and health care.
“The elections are modeled by what I would call a” crossed pressure “-to be competition in competition that attract different directions,” said Rasmus Leander Nielsen, a political scientist from the University of Ilisimatusarfik in the capital, Nuuk. “Geopolitical debates could dominate the titles, but for the average voter, daily life counts more”.
President Trump float the idea that the United States acquired Greenland from Denmark during his first term. After Denmark said no, the idea seemed to die.
But this time, Mr. Trump seems determined to “get” Greenland, as he says. His refusal to exclude the strength has sent nervousness throughout Europe, where relations with his administration are already affecting new minimums on a series of issues, including the rates and the splendid Trump pivot towards Russia.
European diplomats and American investors have turned into Nuuk in snow, taken from the island’s resources and its strategic position. The position of Greenland along the lanes of the Arctic, which are opening up while the planet warms up, have attracted the attention of the powers of the United States, Russia, China and Europeans. The island also has vast mineral deposits, although many are difficult to access.
Contrary to those wide ambitions, people on the island say that they are worried about the highest housing costs and economic uncertainty.
“This election is a test in which the Greenland sees their future, both in their daily life and on the global phase,” said Leander Nielsen. “The question is whether the voters will last priority to immediate economic concerns or the largest geopolitical framework. It is a difficult call. “
At the center of the elections is the question of control.
For more than 200 years, Greenland has been governed as a distant colony of Denmark, its inuit population largely put aside when Danish officials controlled its land and resources. Over time, the pressure for self -control has grown, bringing to greater autonomy and in the end a government in its own right. Today, Greenland controls most national affairs, while Denmark still supervises defense, foreign policy and monetary issues.
But full independence remains a challenge. The financial support of Denmark covers more than half of the Greenland budget, making economic stability a key obstacle for sovereignty.
The next elections will decide on the composition of the Intarti, the 31 -seater Parliament on the island. Almost all the main parts agree that Greenland should become independent – it is only a matter of when and how. They also differ on what the island’s final relationship should be with the United States and Denmark.
No important politician expressed the desire to become an American state and the polls show that 85 % of the Greenlandians do not want it. But some candidates, such as Kuno Fencker, a member of the Naleraq party, believe that Greenland should establish close ties to the United States.
He says that Washington could best protect Greenland and that this alliance would provide greater investments and development. Mr. Fencker is part of a small pro-trump field in Greenland and went to Washington for the inauguration of Mr. Trump. He says that the first step is to detach himself from Denmark.
“It concerns us who gain full authority on our land,” he said. “From there, we will collaborate with international organizations and other countries.”
The United States have maintained a military presence in Greenland from the Second World War, with a small base of missile defense on the top of the island.
“The United States are here to stay,” said Fencker. “They will always be part of the negotiating equation.”
Other parts, including demakraatit, are more cautious about sovereignty and relationships with Washington.
“We must be intelligent and not to push for independence at the expense of our people,” said Bo Martinsen, candidate for Demokraatit. “At this moment, immediate independence is not feasible.”
Mr. Trump’s attention intensified the conversation on independence and what Greenland should do if it stops from Denmark.
“The most important thing for me in these elections is that we speak so much about independence, but I really want to know: how?” Runa Sværd, head of the municipal planning of Nuk said. “I need a road map.”
On an island where hard time can close entire cities and 80 % of the earth’s mass is covered by an ice cap cap, ensuring that a regular election is not so simple.
The cards are transported by helicopter, transported by boats through the arctic waters and accelerated on remote settlements in a snowmobile. Once chosen, each vote is counted by hand, with results transmitted via e -mail or, in the most isolated regions, by the satellite phone. The results should be announced last Tuesday, time permitting.
“If a storm arrives and delays transport, we must improvise,” said Klaus Georg Hansen, a former electoral official.
But storms are not the only threat. Danish intelligence officials have warned of foreign interference, with false social media profiles that present themselves as politicians and statements of Greenland twisted to the SOW division.
Each day that passes, the electoral hum becomes stronger in Nuuk. While travelers move away from the new international airport, two huge banners, one for Naleraq and another for Inuit Atqatigit, the government party, is hung on the opposite sides of a rocky mountain.
Further on, the posters of the campaign oscillate from the street lamps. On Thursday, while John Nathansen, a 66 -year -old pensioner, made his way to a supermarket, the elections were in mind.
“The conditions we live do not receive enough attention. Instead, it is that orange boy – Trump, “he said.” In my opinion, independence should be on the back of the line. “