In Greenland, the winds of political change usually come with a whiff of dried fish or mattak. So it was last week when change swept through the government of Greenland once again and a new coalition was formed. Two years on from the last election, the major party – Siumut – abandoned its minority coalition to form the fourth coalition agreement since that election, now with a majority government once again. Political change happens regularly in Greenland. For my workplace, the new coalition means the eighth change in minister since I started working for the ministry five and half years ago. Having said that, the actual politics have not changed dramatically and most of us operating under the political wheels at the top level have continued more or less a steady path of work along a fairly consistent strategy.
This time our new minister, at twenty-eight years old, is the youngest Greenlandic minister to date. His secretary is twenty three. Between them, I am pretty sure they are the two youngest staff members in the ministry, even counting casual student workers. There are pros and cons to having such young political representation. Experience is obviously one issue. But on the up-side, Greenland has seen a significant rise in political activism from the younger generation in recent years, which is certainly a good thing. For example, one of the two current Greenlandic representatives elected to Folketinget – the Danish parliament – is even younger, at only twenty three years old. And the last Greenlandic election saw a swath of new, relatively young candidates standing for office.
As I passed the lunch room last week, I smelled that familiar whiff of dried fish and mattak as the snacks of Greenlandic foods were laid out for the new minister’s welcoming reception. I wasn’t thrilled by the smell – it’s not my favorite – but nonetheless it made me feel that change is not necessarily a bad thing. Through the afternoon politicians, old and new, were drawn in to celebrate another new start. And as well as the smell of fish, there seemed a sense of optimism in the air.
