It’s not the standard motto for a newly elected parliamentarian, but Qarsoq Høegh-Dam is adamant: if he does his job properly, there will soon be no need for it. “I want to make myself as obsolete as possible,” he said.
Last month, Høegh-Dam, a Greenlandic politician, became the first member of the pro-independence Naleraq to be elected to the Danish parliament. The new MP is clear that if all goes to plan, the largely autonomous Arctic territory will be the sole responsibility of the parliament in Nuuk, the island’s capital. And there will no longer be any need for two seats representing Greenland in Copenhagen, its former colonial ruler.
“Greenland and the Greenlandic people are to be the responsibility of the Greenlandic parliament and the Greenlandic government. So the primary objective is: I will have succeeded if I am no longer relevant,” he said with a laugh.
The Danish general election – in which Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democrats won the most votes but not a clear majority – followed one of the most precarious moments of Denmark’s recent history, when Donald Trump threatened to take control of Greenland.
Trump’s threats to take over the Arctic island came to a dramatic climax in January when, it has since emerged, tensions were so high that Denmark reportedly readied itself for potential attack from the US by flying bags of blood to Greenland and explosives to blow up runways. While tensions have slightly receded, all sides say the situation is as yet unresolved and talks are ongoing.
The geopolitical drama has put a global spotlight on Greenland and Denmark’s relationship and history.
Modern colonisation of Greenland, where Inuit people are understood to have lived since as early as 2,500BC, started with the support of what was then Denmark-Norway in 1721. During the second world war it was temporarily occupied by the US when Denmark was occupied by Germany. In 1953, Greenland became part of the kingdom of Denmark and in 1979 home rule was introduced. Since then, more power has been handed over to Greenland but Copenhagen still retains control of its foreign and security policy.
Høegh-Dam warned that the race for control of the Arctic by the world’s superpowers – including the US, as well as interest from Russia – meant Denmark needed to show it was meeting its commitments to the Greenlandic people. For example, he said Copenhagen was not fulfilling its responsibilities for maintaining Greenlandic prison facilities.
“Especially in these political climates, Denmark trying to penny-pinch in regard to Greenland with their own responsibilities is a hazardous gamble because other foreign nations can use it,” he said.
While all of Greenland’s political parties support eventual independence, Naleraq, also seen as the most Trump-friendly, is in favour of doing it as soon as possible. But Høegh-Dam said they also wanted the transition to be as smooth as possible.
“Which is why we are trying to follow the law that has been established in the Danish parliament,” he said, referring to a 2009 act that recognised the people of Greenland’s right to self-determination.
Naleraq, which was formed in 2014, has soared in popularity in recent years. In Greenland’s last election, last year, it doubled its seats to became the second biggest party in Inatsisartut, the parliament. It declined to join the coalition government and now sits in opposition.
Høegh-Dam is from a family of Greenlandic politicians. His sister, 29-year-old Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam, until recently represented Greenland in the Danish parliament with the Siumut party, and last year switched parties to Naleraq. His late uncle, Thue Christiansen, was in Greenland’s first ever cabinet and designed the Greenlandic national flag. And his cousin, Aaja Chemnitz, was until the last election also a representative in the Danish parliament. “Of course politics is a topic of discussion at the holiday table and over a cup of coffee,” he said. “I hope I can contribute just a small fraction in the same way.”
Last Tuesday, Høegh-Dam and the other Greenlandic MP elected to Danish parliament, Naaja Nathanielsen, visited Frederiksen, now a caretaker prime minister trying to form a coalition government. Nathanielsen, who spent five years in prominent ministerial roles in the Greenlandic government, now represents the territory on behalf of the Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) party.
Nathanielsen said she was seeking reform of the 1953 constitution, which was not voted on by Greenlanders and prevents Nuuk from taking responsibility for its own foreign and security policy.
“We do have much more self-determination than in the 1950s but still there are some elements where we don’t have access to the information that’s needed and we have limitations on what we can do on our own. So that also is a show of baseline inequality,” Nathanielsen said. “So if that’s your starting point, it makes it difficult to have discussions on anything else if the ground you stand on is not an even surface.”
While Greenland’s foreign policy voice had developed considerably, she said, there were still “red lines in terms of what Greenland can achieve on its own” within the constitution’s framework.
She added: “We really want to push those limits because we believe that it is the Greenlandic government that should form and convey foreign policy when it regards the Arctic, with regards to us. And today that is oftentimes not the case.”
Despite coming from different parties, the two Greenlandic MPs say they plan to put aside any domestic differences and work closely together in Copenhagen.
Høegh-Dam insists he is not against a close relationship with Denmark but wants Greenland to be a fully independent nation.
“The structure that we have now, a postcolonial structure, is not working. And we want to make the best out of it,” he said. “The world is changing, but we are so used to other factors trying to change us that we have become resilient. I believe in the Greenlandic people, but I really also want to believe in the Danish people in our common future, if we have one.”
