Max Colchester

Denmark into giving up Greenland, then I think it's going to sharpen a lot of minds in Europe.

And I think we're already seeing a slight change in tact.

There's a hardening in the rhetoric towards Trump.

The previous tactic of promising him huge investments and basically playing along with his charade, I think will stop.

And they'll have to just essentially tell him some hard truths, which may result in economic pain being inflicted on Europe.

They want to make sure that they can reassure the Trump administration that it's taking its concerns on security in the area seriously and that they're willing to be amenable to America's requests for greater investment, say, in security and maybe more availability of mineral rights so that Trump basically backs off.

They're viewing this now through a very different light.

They're now concerned that actually Trump means what he says, and that if Denmark does not cede ownership of Greenland to America, there could be some sort of military confrontation in a worst-worst-case scenario.

So that's why they're now saying, look, let's talk.

Let's get around the table and work out what you want and what we can give so that everyone can leave happy.

Most people on the island voted for parties that are pushing for some sort of independence in the foreseeable future.

And that doesn't mean now.

And it certainly doesn't mean becoming independent so that you can come under the hawk of the U.S.

government.

So when I spoke to people, there was a real sense that they still wanted to be independent, but they really didn't want to become independent at the price of becoming dependent on the U.S.,

That seems to be the most obvious way to square that the circle of demands between the Greenlandic and the U.S.

government.

But obviously that would require the people of Greenland to vote for independence.

It would require the government of Denmark to agree to independence.

And this