- The land of lost opportunities

The employers’ association in Greenland goes strongly out against the new coalition government. – Greenland can become the land of lost opportunities.

In its New Year’s statement, the Greenlandic employers’ association Grønlands Erhverv (GE) speaks out and accuses the new Self-Rule government of political wiggling and lofty dreams of independence before the prerequisites are in place.

Supports independence, but…

“GE supports the ambition of independence and agrees with the coalition government that independence requires political stability and national unity. However, more than anything, independence requires the human resources it takes to lead a country. It requires us to have the powers it takes to manage all sides of a modern society in a world marked by insecurity, competition and change. Do we possess that?” GE asks rhetorically.

Financial sustainability

And GE answers pretty clearly itself. No, Greenland doesn’t. In its New Year statement, the GE President Henrik Leth and its Managing Director Brian Buus Pedersen argue that independence for Greenland requires the country to achieve financial sustainability.

“(…) that we make enough money to run society on its own conditions. Without block grants (annual transfer from Denmark) or other foreign economic assistance”, the statement reads.

Lacking priorities

In light of this, GE finds it “worrying that the coalition agreement between Siumut, Inuit Ataqatigiit and Partii Naleraq lacks focus and priorities.

The coalition agreement promises both lower taxes, more costly welfare programs and a balanced public economy. It is hard to see how Naalakkersuisut shall manage to gather so many loose ends with the deficit budget that has been adopted for 2017”, the employers’ association says.

Land of lost opportunities

GE also agrees with the coalition government that reforms must be initiated and that the land must have “a dynamic development of its economy”, however, it misses targeted and convincing action plans for the reforms required.

“If we don’t see concrete reform results soon, we risk not solving the most pressing and urgent problems, and that the goal of a strong Greenlandic economy will be postponed for the indefinite future. Then Greenland would, for a vast majority, become the land of lost opportunities.”

Remove the victim role

The GE warrants a more consequent, brave and decisive political leadership and argues that if the target of financial sustainability is postponed indefinitely, the same thing will happen to the idea of independence.

Greenland has to rid itself of what they call “the comfortable role of the victim”, the GE argues, and the tendency to blame others (read: Denmark) for Greenland’s problems.

Must own up to responsibility

“The last weeks’ debate about Greenland, Denmark and the Unity of the Realm has made it clear that thee Greenlandic politics’ underlying problem is not one of powerlessness towards the outer world. Rather, it is about a lack of will to step up to responsibility” the GE leaders write in their New Year statement.

Les også: Did the Danish PM prevent a Chinese acquistion on Greenland? 

The GE New Years' Statement was first referred to by the Greenlandic broadcaster KNR (Danish).