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All 63 seats in the Althing 32 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Turnout | 201,777 (81.2% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Map of the election results, showing the seats won by each party in each of the 6 multi-member constituencies. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Iceland |
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Constitution |
Institutions |
Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 28 October 2017. On 15 September 2017, the three-party coalition government collapsed after the departure of Bright Future over a scandal involving Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson's father writing a letter recommending a convicted paedophile have his "honour restored". [1] Bjarni subsequently called for a snap election, [2] which was officially scheduled for 28 October 2017 following the dissolution of the Althing.
Iceland is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic, with a population of 348,580 and an area of 103,000 km2 (40,000 sq mi), making it the most sparsely populated country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Reykjavík, with Reykjavík and the surrounding areas in the southwest of the country being home to over two-thirds of the population. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active. The interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, with most of the archipelago having a tundra climate.
Bright Future is a liberal political party in Iceland that was founded in 2012.
The Prime Minister of Iceland is Iceland's head of government. The prime minister is appointed formally by the President and exercises executive authority along with the cabinet subject to parliamentary support.
Though many opinion polls in the run-up to the election indicated an increase in support for the Left-Green Movement, the Independence Party retained its position as the Althing's largest party. [3] Following the election, four-party coalition talks led by the Left-Greens ensued; however, after the Progressive Party rejected the possibility, a three-party coalition led by the Left-Greens including the Independence Party and Progressive Party was negotiated. After formally receiving the mandate to form a coalition on 28 November, Left-Green leader Katrín Jakobsdóttir was designated Prime Minister to lead the new government on 30 November.
The Left-Green Movement is a eco-socialist political party in Iceland. It is the second largest party in the Althingi, with 11 members of 63 in total, and is currently the leading party in a three-party coalition government formed after the 2017 elections. The party chair is Katrín Jakobsdóttir, MP and the 28th Prime Minister of Iceland since 30 November 2017. The vice chair is Edward H. Hujibens. The secretary-general of the party is Björg Eva Erlendsdóttir. The Left-Green Movement is a member of the Nordic Green Left Alliance.
The Independence Party is a liberal-conservative, Eurosceptic political party in Iceland. It is currently the largest party in the Althing, with 16 seats. The chairman of the party is Bjarni Benediktsson. The secretary of the party is Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir.
The Progressive Party is a centre-right, populist and agrarian political party in Iceland. For most of its history, the Progressive Party has governed with the centre-right liberal conservative Independence Party.
A three-party coalition of the Independence Party, Reform Party and Bright Future had been put together after the 2016 election, which held a narrow majority of 1 seat in Parliament. The cabinet formed was led by Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson, head of the Independence Party.
The Cabinet of Bjarni Benediktsson was formed on 11 January 2017, following the 2016 parliamentary election. The cabinet was led by Bjarni Benediktsson of the Independence Party, who served as Prime Minister of Iceland.
The Icelandic legal system has a mechanism whereby a convicted individual can have their "honour restored", that is have certain civil rights restored, from five years after serving their sentence [4] if three letters of recommendation from persons of good character who know the individual are provided. Hjalti Sigurjón Hauksson was convicted in 2004 for multiple rapes of his stepdaughter from age five for twelve years. He served a jail term of five and a half years. Bjarni's father, Benedikt Sveinsson, was a friend of Hjalti Sigurjón's. Benedikt signed a letter of recommendation, which he said Hjalti Sigurjón brought to him already drafted. Bjarni was informed on this in July 2017 by the justice minister, Sigríður Á. Andersen, also of the Independence Party, but Benedikt's support was not revealed by the government at first. [5] Sigridur refused to say in public who had signed the letter at first, but was ordered to do so by a Parliamentary committee. Bjarni said it would have been illegal for him to reveal the information earlier. [6]
Sigríður Ásthildur Andersen is an Icelandic politician and lawyer who served as the Minister of Justice of Iceland from 2017–2019. She resigned as minister of justice after the European Court of Human Rights found her appointments of judges to the Icelandic court of appeals to be illegal.
Benedikt's involvement emerged in September. Bright Future left the coalition, accusing the Independence Party of a "serious breach of trust". Benedikt apologised for signing the letter. Sigridur said she is preparing a bill to reform the restored honour system. [5]
Bjarni acknowledged the need for new elections, although the decision is made by the President, Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson. Other parties supported new elections, [6] although Birgitta Jónsdóttir, parliamentary chair of the Pirates, initially suggested a 5-party coalition government of the Pirate Party, the Reform Party, the Left-Greens, the Social Democrats and Bright Future should be explored. There had been unsuccessful discussions for such a coalition after the last election. [7]
Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson is an Icelandic politician serving as the 6th and current President of Iceland since 2016. He took office after receiving the largest number of votes in the 2016 election, 71,356 (39.1%). A historian, he was a docent at the University of Iceland until his election. His field of research is modern Icelandic history, and he has published a number of works on the Cod Wars, the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis and the Icelandic presidency, among other topics.
Birgitta Jónsdóttir is an Icelandic politician, anarchist, poet, and activist. She was a Member of the Althing (MP) for the Southwest Constituency from 2013 to 2017, representing the Pirate Party, having been elected at the 2013 election. She was previously an MP for Reykjavík Constituency South from 2009 to 2013. In November 2017, she has announced to retire from politics "for now".
According to poll conducted by Morgunblaðið, 57% of Icelanders believe calling the snap election was right. [8]
The Pirate Party reject a traditional model of party leadership, but Birgitta Jónsdóttir co-founded the party and is often described as the party's informal leader. [9] She announced that she would not be standing in the election. [10] After Birgitta announced that she was not standing, Helgi Hrafn Gunnarsson announced that he would now be running to be an MP, [11] having earlier quit due to what he described as bullying by Birgitta. [12] The centre-right Independence and Reform Parties both campaigned on a platform of continuing their governmental efforts and retaining power in the Althing, as both parties were in coalition before the collapse of the previous parliament. Meanwhile, the Left-Green Movement sought an opportunity to govern for the first time since 2009 and implement ideologically leftist policies. [13]
Former Progressive Party Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson announced in an open letter that he planned to create a party before the elections. This decision was triggered by a leadership dispute amongst the Progressive Party, and led to the formation of the Centre Party on 24 September. [14] The party's platform was broadly similar to that of its predecessor, but was characterised by observers in the media as being "populist", [15] with a particular emphasis on reform of the banking sector and firms such as Íslandsbanki. [16]
The 63 members of the Althing are elected using closed list proportional representation in multi-member constituencies of 8 to 13 seats. [17] Of the 63 seats, 54 are elected using constituency results and determined using the d'Hondt method. The remaining nine supplementary seats are awarded to parties that crossed the 5% national electoral threshold in order to give them a total number of seats equivalent to their national share of the vote. [17]
The Icelandic National Front (right-wing/far-right) was going to take part in the election with list letter E, but has since withdrawn all its lists. [19]
Poll source | Fieldwork date | Sample size | D | V | P | B | C | A | S | F | M | Others | Lead |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 election | 28 Oct 2017 | – | 25.2 | 16.9 | 9.2 | 10.7 | 6.7 | 1.2 | 12.1 | 6.9 | 10.9 | 0.2 | 8.4 |
MMR | 26–27 Oct 2017 | 980 | 21.3 | 16.6 | 11.0 | 11.7 | 8.1 | 2.2 | 12.5 | 4.4 | 11.4 | 0.9 | 4.7 |
Gallup | 23–27 Oct 2017 | 3,848 | 25.3 | 17.3 | 9.0 | 8.9 | 8.2 | 1.5 | 15.5 | 4.0 | 9.7 | 0.6 | 8.0 |
Zenter | 23–27 Oct 2017 | 962 | 22.5 | 19.6 | 9.6 | 9.6 | 7.1 | 1.9 | 14.7 | 4.3 | 10.2 | 0.7 | 2.9 |
Háskóli Íslands | 22–25 Oct 2017 | 2,283 | 24.5 | 20.2 | 8.8 | 7.9 | 8.3 | 1.3 | 15.3 | 4.2 | 9.3 | 0.2 | 4.6 |
Fréttablaðið | 23–24 Oct 2017 | 1,602 | 24.1 | 19.2 | 9.4 | 6.2 | 7.5 | 1.9 | 14.3 | 4.4 | 9.6 | 3.4 | 4.9 |
MMR | 20–23 Oct 2017 | 979 | 22.9 | 19.9 | 9.3 | 8.6 | 5.5 | 1.8 | 13.5 | 4.7 | 12.3 | 1.3 | 3.0 |
Háskóli Íslands | 16–19 Oct 2017 | 2,395 | 25.1 | 23.2 | 8.2 | 7.1 | 5.7 | 1.5 | 15.6 | 3.3 | 9.8 | 0.5 | 1.9 |
Gallup | 13–19 Oct 2017 | 2,870 | 22.6 | 23.3 | 10.7 | 7.4 | 5.8 | 1.2 | 13.3 | 5.7 | 9.4 | 0.5 | 0.7 |
MMR | 17–18 Oct 2017 | 1,007 | 19.9 | 19.1 | 11.9 | 8.0 | 6.7 | 1.6 | 15.8 | 5.3 | 11.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
Fréttablaðið | 16 Oct 2017 | 806 | 22.2 | 27.0 | 10.0 | 7.5 | 5.0 | 2.1 | 10.4 | 3.7 | 10.7 | 1.4 | 4.8 |
Háskóli Íslands | 9–12 Oct 2017 | 1,250 | 22.6 | 27.4 | 9.2 | 5.5 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 15.3 | 6.5 | 6.4 | 1.1 | 4.8 |
Gallup | 29 Sep–12 Oct 2017 | 3,876 | 23.7 | 23.0 | 8.8 | 7.2 | 4.8 | 3.0 | 13.4 | 5.7 | 9.5 | 0.9 | 0.7 |
MMR | 6–11 Oct 2017 | 966 | 21.1 | 21.8 | 10.5 | 5.9 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 13.0 | 7.4 | 10.7 | 1.8 | 0.7 |
Fréttablaðið | 10 Oct 2017 | 804 | 22.2 | 29.9 | 8.5 | 7.1 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 8.3 | 6.1 | 9.2 | 1.8 | 7.7 |
Háskóli Íslands | 2–6 Oct 2017 | 1,083 | 20.7 | 28.2 | 9.1 | 5.5 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 10.8 | 9.0 | 9.5 | 1.4 | 7.5 |
Fréttablaðið | 2–3 Oct 2017 | 800 | 22.3 | 28.6 | 11.4 | 5.5 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 10.6 | 5.8 | 8.9 | 1.4 | 6.3 |
MMR | 26–28 Sep 2017 | 1,012 | 23.5 | 24.7 | 10.0 | 6.4 | 4.9 | 2.5 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.3 | 1.7 | 1.2 |
Háskóli Íslands | 25–28 Sep 2017 | 952 | 24.3 | 28.8 | 11.6 | 7.0 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 4.6 | 0.6 | 4.5 |
Gallup | 15–28 Sep 2017 | 4,092 | 23.1 | 25.4 | 10.3 | 9.9 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 9.3 | 10.1 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 2.3 |
Háskóli Íslands | 19–21 Sep 2017 | 908 | 23 | 30 | 10 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 9 | – | 0 | 7 |
Fréttablaðið | 18 Sep 2017 | 800 | 23.0 | 22.8 | 13.7 | 10.4 | 5.2 | 7.1 | 5.1 | 10.9 | – | 1.8 | 0.2 |
Zenter | 15–18 Sep 2017 | 956 | 26.4 | 22.8 | 12.5 | 10.5 | 2.7 | 5.6 | 9.0 | 9.8 | – | 0.8 | 3.6 |
Gallup | 14 Sep 2017 | N/A | 23.6 | 24.4 | 9.8 | 10.4 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 9.1 | 11.6 | – | 1.5 | 0.8 |
MMR | 4 Sep 2017 | N/A | 25.9 | 19.2 | 13.8 | 9.7 | 7.3 | 3.0 | 9.6 | 9.1 | – | 2.4 | 6.7 |
Gallup | 10–30 Aug 2017 | 4,108 | 26.3 | 19.5 | 13.1 | 10.8 | 4.8 | 2.8 | 9.7 | 10.6 | – | 2.4 | 6.8 |
MMR | 15–18 Aug 2017 | 955 | 24.5 | 20.5 | 13.5 | 10.1 | 6.0 | 3.6 | 10.6 | 6.7 | – | 4.5 | 4.0 |
Gallup | 12–31 Jul 2017 | 3,827 | 26.5 | 21.2 | 12.9 | 11.4 | 5.3 | 3.7 | 9.1 | 8.4 | – | 1.5 | 5.3 |
MMR | 18–21 Jul 2017 | 909 | 29.3 | 20.4 | 13.3 | 9.6 | 4.6 | 2.4 | 10.6 | 6.1 | – | 3.6 | 8.9 |
Gallup | 15 Jun–2 Jul 2017 | 2,870 | 27.5 | 21.5 | 14.2 | 11.3 | 5.6 | 3.3 | 9.2 | 3.8 | – | 3.6 | 6.0 |
MMR | 21 Jun 2017 | N/A | 28.4 | 22.6 | 13.3 | 10.2 | 5.3 | 3.3 | 9.1 | 2.8 | – | 5.0 | 5.8 |
MMR | 6–14 Jun 2017 | 974 | 24.9 | 20.6 | 13.7 | 13.4 | 5.2 | 2.9 | 11.3 | 2.8 | – | 5.2 | 4.3 |
Gallup | 3–31 May 2017 | 7,133 | 25.6 | 24.3 | 12.9 | 11.0 | 6.2 | 3.4 | 9.4 | 4.2 | – | 3.0 | 1.3 |
MMR | 11–16 May 2017 | 943 | 25.6 | 21.4 | 14.1 | 12.2 | 5.5 | 3.4 | 9.3 | 3.6 | – | 5.0 | 4.2 |
Gallup | 30 Mar–1 May 2017 | 8,206 | 26.4 | 24.0 | 13.1 | 10.9 | 6.9 | 4.4 | 8.3 | 3.7 | – | 3.3 | 2.4 |
MMR | 11–26 Apr 2017 | 926 | 25.2 | 23.4 | 12.8 | 11.1 | 5.0 | 3.2 | 10.6 | 3.2 | – | 5.4 | 1.8 |
Gallup | 2–30 Mar 2017 | 5,798 | 29.2 | 24.5 | 10.3 | 10.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 8.3 | 2.8 | – | 2.4 | 4.7 |
Fréttablaðið | 20–21 Mar 2017 | 791 | 32.1 | 27.3 | 14.3 | 7.0 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 8.8 | – | – | 3.6 | 4.8 |
MMR | 6–13 Mar 2017 | 921 | 25.4 | 23.5 | 13.7 | 11.4 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 8.8 | 3.7 | – | 3.0 | 1.9 |
Gallup | 1–28 Feb 2017 | 5,557 | 27.6 | 24.3 | 12.0 | 10.7 | 5.4 | 6.4 | 8.3 | 2.4 | – | 2.9 | 3.3 |
MMR | 17–24 Feb 2017 | 928 | 26.9 | 23.9 | 11.6 | 12.2 | 6.3 | 5.2 | 8.0 | 2.5 | – | 3.4 | 3.3 |
MMR | 10–15 Feb 2017 | 983 | 24.4 | 27.0 | 11.9 | 10.7 | 6.2 | 5.4 | 10.0 | 2.6 | – | 1.8 | 2.6 |
MMR | 1–5 Feb 2017 | 983 | 23.8 | 27.0 | 13.6 | 9.7 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 7.8 | 3.6 | – | 3.6 | 3.2 |
Gallup | 5–29 Jan 2017 | 4,288 | 28.0 | 22.8 | 13.4 | 10.5 | 5.3 | 7.2 | 7.3 | 3.3 | – | 2.2 | 5.2 |
MMR | 12–26 Jan 2017 | 910 | 24.6 | 22.0 | 13.6 | 12.5 | 6.8 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 3.6 | – | 2.9 | 2.6 |
MMR | 3–10 Jan 2017 | 954 | 26.1 | 24.3 | 14.6 | 10.9 | 6.9 | 6.3 | 6.4 | 2.1 | – | 2.4 | 1.8 |
Gallup | 1–29 Dec 2016 | 4,192 | 29.0 | 20.0 | 14.6 | 8.9 | 7.4 | 8.7 | 7.5 | 2.2 | – | 1.7 | 9.0 |
MMR | 26 Dec 2016 | N/A | 29.3 | 20.7 | 12.7 | 10.2 | 7.0 | 9.1 | 6.9 | 2.2 | – | 1.9 | 8.6 |
MMR | 14 Dec 2016 | N/A | 29.6 | 21.6 | 14.1 | 9.1 | 5.6 | 8.9 | 6.3 | 1.6 | – | 3.2 | 8.0 |
Fréttablaðið | 12–14 Dec 2016 | 791 | 31.8 | 17.0 | 13.1 | 9.7 | 10.1 | 10.8 | 5.6 | – | – | 1.9 | 14.8 |
MMR | 1 Dec 2016 | N/A | 26.1 | 20.5 | 15.6 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 9.8 | 6.6 | 1.9 | – | 3.7 | 5.6 |
Gallup | 10–29 Nov 2016 | 5,207 | 28.0 | 20.9 | 13.7 | 9.0 | 8.9 | 8.6 | 5.3 | 3.0 | – | 2.6 | 7.1 |
MMR | 7–14 Nov 2016 | 904 | 26.0 | 20.7 | 11.9 | 9.4 | 10.6 | 9.6 | 5.6 | 3.4 | – | 2.8 | 5.3 |
2016 election | 29 Oct 2016 | – | 29.0 | 15.9 | 14.5 | 11.5 | 10.5 | 7.2 | 5.7 | 3.5 | – | 2.2 | 13.1 |
If a sample size was not provided for the poll, only the given (Gallup) or end (MMR) date was provided by the polling firm.
The Independence Party retained its position as the Althing's largest party. However, the Independence Party's parliamentary representation decreased by five seats to 16 and it lost its governing majority. The Left-Green Movement retained its position as the Althing's second largest party, increasing its representation by one seat to 11. The Social Democratic Alliance saw a large increase in support, doubling its vote share from 2016, and will enter the new parliament with seven members. The Progressive Party held steady at eight seats while the newly formed Centre Party, founded by former Progressive Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, won seven seats. The Pirate Party, which entered the election as the Althing's third largest party, lost four seats and was reduced to six seats. Entering the Althing for the first time, the People's Party obtained four seats. The Reform Party, one of the members of the outgoing government, lost three seats and was left with four seats. In line with all pre-election polling, Bright Future did not meet the 5% threshold and was therefore not returned to the Althing.
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | ||||||
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Independence Party | D | 49,543 | 25.2 | 16 | –5 | |||||
Left-Green Movement | V | 33,155 | 16.9 | 11 | +1 | |||||
Social Democratic Alliance | S | 23,652 | 12.1 | 7 | +4 | |||||
Centre Party | M | 21,335 | 10.9 | 7 | New | |||||
Progressive Party | B | 21,016 | 10.7 | 8 | 0 | |||||
Pirate Party | P | 18,051 | 9.2 | 6 | –4 | |||||
People's Party | F | 13,502 | 6.9 | 4 | +4 | |||||
Reform Party | C | 13,122 | 6.7 | 4 | –3 | |||||
Bright Future | A | 2,394 | 1.2 | 0 | –4 | |||||
People's Front of Iceland | R | 375 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | |||||
Dawn | T | 101 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | |||||
Invalid/blank votes | 5,531 | – | – | – | ||||||
Total | 201,777 | 100 | 63 | 0 | ||||||
Registered voters/turnout | 248,502 | 81.2 | – | – | ||||||
Source: Morgunblaðið (Icelandic) Iceland Monitor (English) |
On 30 October, President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson met with the leaders of the eight parliamentary parties. [20] Before meeting with Guðni, Left-Green leader Katrín Jakobsdóttir stated that she wanted to become Prime Minister, and did not exclude the possibility of cooperation with any party. [21] Þórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir, representing the Pirates, voiced her party's support for Katrín to receive the mandate to form a government, did not rule out an alliance with the Centre or People's Party, but indicated that it was not her first choice, [22] and did not rule out an alliance with the Independence Party but did not envisage one to be possible. [23] Inga Sæland said that the People's Party remained unbound, but alluded to the similarities between her party and Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson's Centre Party; [24] however, though Sigmundur suggested that the two parties would ally to address shared issues, [25] Inga stated she was not aware of any such alliance. [26]
The four former opposition parties held informal talks, [27] with their leaders meeting by chance on 30 October. Logi Már Einarsson, leader of the Social Democratic Alliance, told Guðni it was natural for Katrín to receive the mandate to form a government if she so requested. He did not rule out an alliance with the Independence Party, but said that the two parties were starkly different, [28] adding that it was natural for the opposition to have the chance to lead given the government's losses in the election. [29] The Progressive Party was in pole position to determine whether the Independence Party or the Left-Greens would lead the next government, [30] and after the election reiterated its opposition to a referendum on EU membership. [31] Progressive leader Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson also expressed reluctance to governing with the Centre Party. [32] After meeting with Guðni, Katrín declared that she wanted to form a government with the four former opposition parties, [33] noting that though a coalition with additional parties would provide more than 32 seats, doing so would not be necessary before a four-party coalition was first attempted. [34]
After holding talks with party leaders, President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson on 2 November granted Katrín Jakobsdóttir, leader of the Left-Green Movement, the mandate to form a coalition between her party, the Progressives, Social Democratic Alliance, and Pirates, [35] the four having agreed in the morning to begin formal coalition talks, [36] which started the following day. [37] On 6 November, the leadership of the Progressive Party determined that the four-party coalition would hold too slim a majority to form the basis for cooperation between them on major issues, [38] and the Pirates recommended in a press release that a government with a larger majority be formed; [39] the early failure of negotiations was also attributed to the Progressives' distrust of the Pirates in supporting a government with such a slim majority. As such, Katrín met Guðni in the afternoon, [40] after first announcing to the press that she would return her mandate. [41] Guðni subsequently announced that he would discuss alternative possibilities to form a government with the party leaders, [42] with speculation about a possible rapprochement between the Progressive Party and Centre Party sparked by a call between their chairmen over the weekend. [43]
In the following days, the leaders of the Left-Greens, Independence Party, and Progressive Party discussed the possibility of forming a coalition together, with the Left-Greens insistent that Katrín become prime minister in that case, [44] an idea supported by the Progressives; [45] in exchange, demissionary prime minister Bjarni Benediktsson would be appointed finance minister. [46] At a meeting of Left-Green parliamentarians on 13 November, 9 voted in support and 2 against opening formal talks with the Independence Party, the two opposed being Andrés Ingi Jónsson and Rósa Björk Brynjólfsdóttur. [47] The youth organisation of the Left-Greens announced its vehement opposition to governing with the Independence Party, [48] and dozens of the party's members renounced their membership in protest. [49] The coalition is the first including the Independence Party and the farthest left party represented in the Althing since the period from 1944 to 1947, when it governed alongside the People's Unity Party – Socialist Party. [50]
Talks concluded swiftly, and after meeting with Katrín on 28 November, Guðni formally granted her the mandate to lead a government with the Independence Party and Progressive Party, pending the support of each of the parties, with the new government seated on 30 November, [51] after party committees approved the government agreement. [52]
Ásgeir Ásgeirsson was the second President of Iceland, from 1952 to 1968. He was a Freemason and served as Grandmaster of the Icelandic Order of Freemasons.
Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir is an Icelandic politician, who has been chairman of the Reform Party since 2017.
A parliamentary election was held in Iceland on 25 April 2009 following strong pressure from the public as a result of the Icelandic financial crisis. The Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Movement, which formed the outgoing coalition government under Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, both made gains and formed an overall majority of seats in the Althing. The Progressive Party also made gains, and the new Citizens' Movement, formed after the January 2009 protests, gained four seats. The big loser was the Independence Party, which had been in power for 18 years until January 2009: it lost a third of its support and nine seats in the Althing.
Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson is an Icelandic politician who was the youngest serving Prime Minister of Iceland from May 2013 until April 2016. He was also chairman of the Progressive Party from 2009 to October 2016. He was elected to the Althing as the 8th member for the Reykjavík Constituency North on 25 April 2009. He has represented the Northeast Constituency as its 1st member since 27 April 2013.
Katrín Jakobsdóttir is an Icelandic politician serving as the 28th and current Prime Minister of Iceland since 2017. She is the member of the Althing for the Reykjavík North constituency since 2007. She became deputy chairperson of the Left-Green Movement in 2003 and has been their chairperson since 2013. Katrín was Iceland's Minister of Education, Science and Culture and of Nordic Co-operation from 2 February 2009 to 23 May 2013. She is Iceland's second female prime minister after Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir.
Bjarni Benediktsson, known colloquially as Bjarni Ben, is an Icelandic politician, who served as Prime Minister from January 2017 to November 2017. He has been the leader of the Icelandic Independence Party since 2009, and previously served as Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs from 2013 to 2017.
Bjarni Harðarson is a bookseller, novelist, and former MP from the Icelandic Progressive Party.
An Icelandicparliamentary election was held on 27 April 2013. Fifteen parties contested the election in Iceland, compared to just seven in the previous election. The election was won by the two centre-right opposition parties, the Independence Party and Progressive Party, who subsequently formed a coalition government. The parties are eurosceptic, and their win brought to a halt partially completed negotiations with the European Union regarding Icelandic membership.
Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson is an Icelandic politician, who was the Prime Minister of Iceland from April 2016 to January 2017. He is the chairman of the Progressive Party.
The Pirate Party is a political party in Iceland. The party's platform is based on pirate politics and direct democracy.
Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 29 October 2016. They were due to be held on or before 27 April 2017, but following the 2016 Icelandic anti-government protests, the ruling coalition announced that early elections would be held "in autumn".
Presidential elections took place in Iceland on 25 June 2016. President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, elected in 1996, stepped down after serving five consecutive terms. Historian and lecturer Guðni Th. Jóhannesson was elected after receiving a plurality with 39.1% of the vote. He took office on 1 August, as the first new president of the Nordic country in twenty years.
The 2016 Icelandic anti-government protests were a series of protests against the Icelandic government following the release of the Panama Papers.
Events in the year 2017 in Iceland.
The next Icelandic parliamentary election to elect members of the Althing will be held no later than 23 October 2021.
The Centre Party is a self-proclaimed centrist populist political party in Iceland, established in September 2017. It split from the Progressive Party due to leadership disputes, when two factions decided to band up as a new party before the 2017 election. It has been described as "populist", and proposes to reform the state's banking sector, maintain government ownership of Landsbankinn while reclaiming the state's stake in Arion Bank currently controlled by hedge funds, redistributing a third of its shares among Icelanders, but also to sell the government's existing stake in Íslandsbanki. The party supports scrapping indexation on debts and opposes the accession of Iceland to the European Union. At the inaugural meeting of the party in Reykjavik on 8 October, Sigmundur Davíð claimed that the party supported the best ideas of the left and right, emphasizing both the protection of individual rights and social security, while also focusing on regional issues in the same vein of the Northern Powerhouse in the UK and improving benefits for the elderly. The party also proposes to improve ferry services and construct a new university hospital.