Greenlanders will head to the polls to vote in their country’s parliamentary election on Tuesday, in what will likely prove to be a historic vote not because of any seismic shifts within the nation but because of the geopolitical message it will send.

Independence from Denmark is not on the ballot itself, but who is elected to Greenland’s parliament will signal how the country could move forward in not only divorcing itself from Copenhagen, but in handling what some critics have perceived as threats issued by President Donald Trump.

Parliamentary elections on the world’s largest island, a nation of less than 60,000 people, have previously picked up scant coverage due to their relatively low impact on world affairs.

Anthon Frederiksen, from the Naleraq Party, hangs campaign posters before the general election on March 10, 2025, in Ilulissat, Greenland. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

“We are ready to invest billions of dollars to create new jobs and make you rich  – And, if you so choose, we welcome you to be a part of the Greatest Nation anywhere in the World, the United States of America,” he added. 

Trump drew rebuke in some quarters following his address to Congress, where his tone on Greenland was softer than previous remarks, but he concluded by saying, “One way or the other, we’re going to get it.”

According to a January poll, some 85% of Greenlanders oppose Trump’s push to make Greenland a part of the U.S., including Prime Minister Mute Egede, who has been not only a huge proponent of independence from Denmark, but who has also been staunchly opposed to Trump’s interest in Greenland.

Egede’s Inuit Ataqatigiit party, which currently holds 11 seats, is expected to pick up an even greater majority following the Tuesday election. 

Anthon Frederiksen delivers campaign posters before the general election on March 10, 2025, in Ilulissat, Greenland. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Egede, who has repeatedly told the U.S. president that Greenland is “not for sale,” on Monday said Trump’s unpredictability was sowing international chaos.

“The things that are happening in the world right now worry me quite a lot,” Egede told Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). “There is a world order that is faltering on many fronts, and perhaps a president in the United States who is very unpredictable in a way that makes people feel insecure.”