Opinions are divided between the Greenlandic candidates for the Folketing - Erika Nielsen Baadh (Siumut) and Juno Berthelsen (Naleraq) agree on the goal - a stronger Greenland - but their methods are vastly different.
Whereas Siumut will assess the taking back of the remaining 30 areas of responsibility "on an ongoing basis" and as Greenland gains legal powers, Naleraq believes that the process should have been completed "yesterday".
- We must inform Denmark that all areas must be brought up to the standard prescribed by law, and this must happen immediately. This should have happened long ago, says Juno Berthelsen (N), who wants the areas returned to Greenland.
Social scars and cannabis abuse slow down the path towards independence
Erika Nielsen Baadh (S) points out that Greenland has deep social problems that need to be solved before it can stand completely alone. She particularly highlights the massive cannabis abuse as a barrier to development.
- We are a small society, and we know how destructive abuse can be, says Erika Nielsen Baadh.
A 2015 report showed that Denmark at the time spent around 576 million kroner annually on running the areas that were not taken over, such as the police. According to the Self-Government Act, Greenland itself must pay for running an area when it is returned, and for this reason, among other things, the return of areas of concern has been extremely limited.
Greenland must sit at the head of the table in the geopolitical game
At Naleraq, Juno Bertelse disagrees with Erika Nielsen Baadh. Juno Berthelsen refuses to wait for a gradual takeover of the 30 areas of responsibility; for him, independence is a matter of international law and principled self-determination.
The demand is clear, all areas must be raised to the standard of the law and returned home.
This also applies to security policy, where Greenland itself must sit at the head of the table. By bypassing Denmark and entering into direct trade agreements with the USA and Canada, Naleraq wants to break with the past and bolster the Greenland economy:
- It is critical that Denmark is only reacting now, when they fear losing Greenland as a territory, says Juno Berthelsen about Denmark's increased focus on the Arctic.
Stop being overlooked in Denmark
Both candidates agree on one thing: Greenland must no longer be overlooked. With the increased interest of the USA, China and Russia in the Arctic, Greenland is in a historically strong negotiating position.
At the same time, both candidates promise to fight for the rights of Greenlanders in Denmark, where discrimination and cultural misunderstandings in the social system play a major role.
