There was a time when about 1 percent of the entire population of Greenland lived in a single building, before it was gradually evacuated in the early 2010s.
Built in the 1960s, Blok P in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, was a symbol of Danish colonial ignorance. Its narrow doorways and small rooms were incompatible with the bulky clothing and outdoor livelihoods of residents. The absence of any specialized facilities for fishermen meant they had to fillet their catches in bathtubs.
Greenland has long been ignored or caricatured. It seems to have taken a deliberate misunderstanding by a US president for Denmark to engage with the territory on something approaching equal terms. In recent months, the Danish king and prime minister have both visited, Denmark has announced a large increase in military investment for Greenland, and Greenland has assumed the role of chair of the Arctic Council on behalf of the Kingdom of Denmark.
The year 2025 has brought unprecedented attention to the sparsely populated northern island, with continued pressure from the Trump administration uniting the Greenlandic and Danish governments against the president’s claim that Greenland’s citizens “want to be with us.” Following protracted negotiations involving all parties, elections on March 11 returned a broad coalition, with only the most pro-independence major party, Naleraq, excluded from government.
The coalition discussions led by the center-right, free-market Demokraatit party aimed from the start at forming a unity government to withstand unwelcome attention from Greenland’s Arctic neighbor. The coalition agreement emphasized the need to “tread carefully” in discussions of independence, with no mention of any particular time frame for breaking with…
Auteur: Huw Paige
