Practically half of Danes see US as risk and 78% oppose Greenland sale, ballot exhibits

Nearly half of Danish individuals now contemplate the US to be a substantial risk to their nation and the overwhelming majority oppose Greenland leaving to grow to be a part of the US, new polling has discovered.

The analysis by YouGov, shared completely with the Guardian, comes after weeks of pressure between Denmark, Greenland and the US over Donald Trump’s repeated assertions that he plans to take management of the autonomous territory, which is a part of the Danish kingdom.

The Arctic island, which has a inhabitants of 57,000 individuals, was previously dominated as a colony by Denmark, which continues to regulate its overseas and safety coverage. Trump’s curiosity in Greenland comes at a time of rising momentum for its pre-existing independence motion.

The ballot of simply over 1,000 individuals in Denmark, carried out between 15 and 22 January, discovered that 46% thought of the US to be both “a really large risk” or “a fairly large risk” to Denmark.

That is increased than the quantity who stated they thought of North Korea or Iran a risk – of which 44% and 40% did respectively. However the specter of Russia stays significantly increased; 86% of respondents stated they thought of Moscow a risk.

Of these surveyed, 78% stated they might oppose Greenland being bought to the US, however 72% stated the ultimate determination needs to be Greenland’s, not Denmark’s.

The findings are available every week wherein the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, toured Berlin, Paris and Brussels to shore up assist amid Trump’s Greenland threats, after a reportedly “horrendous” name with the US president.

Frederiksen stated Europe should unite within the face of fixing relations with the US. “I need to make sure that all of Europe stands collectively. Not solely in reference to the dominion of Denmark but additionally extra broadly,” she stated.

She added: “Everybody in Europe can see that it will likely be a special collaboration with the USA now.”

Trump has stated the US wants management of Greenland – and the Panama canal – for “financial safety” and has described possession and management of the territory as an “absolute necessity”. Greenland has lengthy been on his radar as a goal for buy and in 2019 he confirmed studies that he had been urging aides to learn the way the US may purchase it, describing a sale as “primarily a big actual property deal”.

In addition to oil and gasoline, Greenland’s provide of in-demand uncooked supplies for inexperienced know-how is attracting curiosity from around the globe, together with from China.

An opinion ballot revealed earlier this week discovered that 85% of Greenlanders didn’t need the island to grow to be a part of the US. The survey by the pollster Verian, commissioned by the Danish paper Berlingske, confirmed solely 6% of Greenlanders had been in favour of turning into a part of the US, with 9% undecided.