Iceland restart: drop the left and the EU, and returns to the bankrupt masters

After 5 years of Social Democratic administration the country returns to the right. Icelanders don’t like the government’s anti-crisis austerity and the possibility of adopting the euro: the same political force that threw the country into an abyss returns to power. And with the left wing votes the Pirate Party enters Parliament for the first time.

This is a slap for the old continent and the rebellion against the austerity policy and rigor imposed by the exiting Prime Minister, the Social Democrat Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir. That is how many interpreted the clear-cut victory obtained in Iceland by the conservative parties, better known as “euroskeptics” during the Parliamentary elections held on April 27^th.

With 26.7 % and 24.4% of votes the Party of Independence headed by the 43 year old former professional soccer player, Bjarni Benediktsson and the Progressive Party of Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson – aligned with IP – are respectively the first and second political forces of the country. The 19 and 18 seats obtained by the 2 parties (37 out of a total of 63) give the center right the absolute majority in Parliament that would allow Benediktsson to quickly become the new Prime Minister of the island.

An outcome decisively crushing to the winning coalition of 2009 headed by Sigurðardóttir and formed by the Alliance of Social Democrats with the left Movement – green: for them now only 9 and 7 seats correspond to a miserable 23.8% of the total consensus. And while some interpret the electoral results as an obvious sign of the fact that the Icelanders didn’t appreciate the austerity policy imposed by the preceding  Social Democratic government, a necessary measure even if drastic, to save the country from bankruptcy where it was headed, others indicate that “people seem to have a very short memory.” “These,” it seems a constituent just coming out of a seat from Reykjavik said, alluding to future winners, “above all are the parties who put us in trouble.” Indeed the reference is to the economic crisis of 2008 begun under the conservative government (which always led the country except for the last legislature) and then controlled by the center – left with extremely strict and rigid policy that even among the polemics brought a series of success among which the consistent increase of GDP of 1.65 and the decrease in unemployment to 9%. Results however that did not satisfy the islanders.

According to data the people of the island of ice would still live a precarious condition of stability: 1 family out of 10 would have problems paying mortgages on time and the escape overseas of the masterminds seems to still be very high. All the more that governor Sigurðardóttir worked for Iceland to enter the EU, a “necessary” choice that however, dictated by the main goal to guarantee stabilization of prices, lately appealed only to those who agreed- 25% of those interviewed. Iceland, in fact which is even part of the European Economic Area (EEA), the area of free exchange with the EU, never looked kindly upon the requirement to submit to sovereignty to Brussels and to thus endure a strong limitation of its own national government.

Now the procedure to enter the EU, already suspended during the election campaign, could be cancelled altogether by the new Prime Minister thus frustrating Sigurðardóttir’s work; he struggled to reach agreements with Brussels on thorny issues like CAP and fishing.

And if it was already obvious that the Icelanders weren’t exactly a “pro-Europe” population, the real news comes from the election success obtained from the Pirate Party anti-copyright in favor of web freedom, which with 3 seats and 5% of votes – “stolen” from the center left, they think – enters for the 1^st time in Parliament. The objective of the party created in Sweden in 2006 and represented in government by 3 youngsters: Jon Thor Olafsson, Helgi Hrfn Gunnarsson e Birgitta Jonsdottir – already famous for the Wikileaks case – is that of guaranteeing more transparency and freedom of web platform.

Loredana Recchia

For further information:
– L’Islanda guarda l’Europa. Sempre più da lontano