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Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede called for snap elections with a renewed global interest in the large Arctic Island since U.S. President Donald Trump said he aims to purchase it. While many Greenland political leaders continue to express independence rather than being controlled by Denmark, which currently owns the island, or the United States, it is not unanimous with some warming up to Trump's overtures.
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Egede proposed a March 11 election, noting that it marks a pivotal time in the future of Greenland.
"We are in the middle of a serious time," Egede wrote on Tuesday. "A time like we have never experienced in our country. This is not a time for internal division as the time obliges us to work together and unite for our country."
Parliament member Kuno Fencker recently traveled to Washington to meet with Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., who introduced the Make Greenland Great Again Act, that would authorize Trump to negotiate the acquisition of Greenland from Denmark.
Some in Fencker's Siumut Party have been more incline to listen to Trump's offer. The Community of the People Party, the other dominant party in Greenland, wants independence as it slowly grows on its own financially.
The Community of the People fall in line with recent polls, where the vast number of Greenland residents who want an independent island, which has been self-ruled since 1979 while officially still part of Denmark.
Egede appears to be betting a snap election will strength the move away from being owned by the United States. Besides, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has repeatedly said that Greenland is not for sale or trade. Egede has joined in that sentiment.
