The creator of the hit Danish political drama Borgen, Adam Price, has drawn parallels between the show's fictional plots and the real-world controversy surrounding US President Donald Trump's interest in purchasing Greenland. Price described Trump's desire for the territory as akin to a 'spoilt child who has never heard the word no'.
Price noted that Borgen dedicated an episode to Greenland in its first season in 2010, and the island became the main setting for the fourth season in 2022. The focus on Greenland, a former colony of Denmark, was driven by the emotional weight of its colonial history. Price highlighted the arrival of priest Hans Egede in 1721, who founded a mission and trading station, and the subsequent forced conversion of the indigenous Inuit people. A statue of Egede in Nuuk was vandalised in 2020 with the slogan 'Decolonize'.
The article details the complex history of US involvement in Greenland, beginning during the Second World War when the US needed refuelling bases. In 1951, a treaty allowed the US to build bases, leading to the construction of Thule airbase (now Pituffik space base) in 1953, which involved the forced relocation of Inuit settlements. During the Cold War, Denmark turned a blind eye to US nuclear weapons on Greenland, a policy that unravelled in 1968 when a B-52 crash spilled four nuclear bombs onto the ice.
Greenland gained home rule in 1979 and self-government in 2009, which acknowledged the Greenlandic people's right to decide their own fate. This legislation inspired the final season of Borgen, which explored the geopolitical tensions arising from a fictional oil discovery in Greenland. Price noted that such a find would be considered critical infrastructure by the US, putting Denmark in the difficult position of a 'little brother who must follow orders'.
Price concluded that the only positive aspect of the current situation is that Greenland and Denmark 'stand more united than ever' in the face of Trump's overtures.
