Decolonising the Arctic

Nearly independent day

Jun 20th 2009 | COPENHAGEN AND NUUK
From Economist.com

Greenland gives Denmark the cold shoulder. But would it ever be viable as a country?

Reuters

THIS year’s summer solstice is a momentous one for Greenland, the huge and sparsely-populated Arctic island that has been run by Denmark since the 18th century. As fireworks pop in the white skies, and amid concerts and parties, the Danish Queen will attend a ceremony at the parliament in Nuuk, the Greenlandic capital, on Sunday June 21st, where she will observe the beginning of self-governance in the territory.

A sense of nationalism has been growing steadily among the 56,000 Greenlanders, matched by increasingly lively local politics. Three decades ago Greenlanders won a degree of home rule and then, anxious about fishing rights, promptly voted to pull themselves out of the European Union (then the European Community), completing the process in 1985, becoming the only people ever to secede from the continental block. Now they are moving towards independence from Denmark. Last November over 75% voted to further loosen ties with the colonial ruler by taking on responsibility for police and judicial affairs. For now, however, Danes will continue to handle foreign and monetary matters and to provide a generous subsidy of Dkr3.4 billion ($633m), or over $11,300 per Greenlander, each year.

In time the Greenlanders, encouraged by younger and more left-leaning voters, are expected to cut loose from the Danes, who themselves have conceded that full decolonisation is likely. That process may be spurred by local anger at how politicians have lived it up in Copenhagen, the Danish capital. Matching a row over MPs’ expenses in Britain, Greenland has been agog at revelations about politicians’ extravagant lifestyles produced by journalists using freedom-of-information laws.

Battered by the scandal, Greenland’s ruling elite was booted out of office this month, ending a 30-year stranglehold on power by the social democratic Siumut party. The expense claims by Siumut politicians read like a guide to Michelin-starred eateries and trendy tapas bars in Copenhagen. Most damning, many culinary excursions involving family, friends and even pop stars, were signed off as “political consultations” or “strategy meetings”. Jonathan Motzfeldt, the 70-year-old co-founder of Siumut and the self-styled “father of the nation” drew particular scorn for getting his spin doctor to pen a flattering biography at taxpayers’ expense. Nor did it help that, a few days before polling, Mr Motzfeldt was prevented from boarding an Air Greenland flight. The local press suggested that an intoxicated Mr Motzfeldt had protested by shouting “I’m the king of Greenland”.

Against this background, election promises by Inuit Ataqatigiit, the leftist opposition, to clean up the system, struck a chord with voters. Kuupik Kleist, the IA leader, and his largely youthful band of fresh-faced politicians, almost doubled their vote to take 43.7% of the total. Mr Kleist, now prime minister of Greenland, will focus on sorting out child welfare, education and health.

In addition he may work towards making Greenland a viable independent country, which will mean looking at how to cut reliance on Danish subsidies and exports of fish. Plans for the building of a big aluminium smelter are under way. In the south of Greenland agriculture is apparently being boosted by climate change: dairy farms and growers of potatoes are benefiting from warmer weather. The biggest prize of all, however, would be if those exploring for oil and gas strike lucky. So far only a few holes have been drilled offshore, but more exploration is being planned. If the oil men were to stumble upon sizeable reserves, as some geologists think possible, expect the march towards full independence to step up pace.

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