Trump's ambition to grab Greenland adds extra heat to the island's election

The president's plan to take over the Arctic territory could find a receptive audience as disillusion with the Danes won't go away

- Miranda Bryant

When it comes to the issues on the table - schools, healthcare, independence - Tuesday's election is "not that exceptional", says Greenlandic politician Aaja Chemnitz Larsen. And yet, it will potentially be the most consequential in the Arctic island's history.

What makes this general election unlike any other, says the Inuit Ataqatigiit member of the Danish parliament, is the global spotlight on it. “What we're seeing is influence from the US, Denmark and other places. It is not the same as other elections.”

Donald Trump's fixation with acquiring Greenland “one way or the other”, as he told Congress to laughs last week, means the US - and the world - is watching Greenland’s election like never before. Denmark, which ruled the now autonomous territory as a colony until 1953 and continues to control its foreign and security policy, is also paying unprecedented attention for fear of losing a crucial part of its kingdom.

Even before Trump’s inauguration in January, he was aggressively mooting a renewed version of his first-term idea of “buying” Greenland - which his administration sees as a valuable asset for its strategic location and natural resources — this time with threats of military action and tariffs if Denmark did not comply. This came after a private visit to the capital, Nuuk, by his son, Donald Trump Jr, which was broadcast across the world on social media by his entourage.