Anti-EU parties poised for victory in Iceland

Jón Sigurðsson	Myntráð	Kanadadalur	Icesave-vextir	Ólafur og Dorit	Icesave-vextir
Stjórnarskráin	Ólafur og Dorit	Vinstrivaktin	Samtök fullveldis	Evrópuvaktin	Heimssýn

  

  

Samstaða þjóðar    NATIONAL UNITY COALITION                                                               Baráttusamtök fyrir sjálfstæðu ríki á Íslandi og fullveldisréttindum almennings.    Stöndum vörð um Stjórnarskrá Lýðveldisins.

  

Anti-EU parties poised for victory in Iceland.

Fyrst birt hjá EuropeanVoice.com 18. apríl 2013.

 

 

  

 

Andrew Gardner.

 

Progressives could form single-party government.

The sole established pro-European Union party in Iceland, the governing Social Democrats (SDA), is set to be crushed in a highly volatile and potentially historic parliamentary election on 27 April.

 

The dominant question of a campaign in which the country's bid for EU membership has been largely marginalised, is now whether the centre-right Progressive Party can maintain the momentum that has taken it from 12.7% in the polls in December to 40.8% in early April. A small increase would enable it to form the first single-party government since Iceland gained full independence from Denmark in 1944.

 

An outright majority for the Progressives – or a coalition with the other right-wing party, the Independence Party – would result in a referendum on halting talks on EU membership immediately. Roughly two-thirds of Icelanders have consistently said they oppose joining the EU, but a thin majority want negotiations to be completed.

 

Observers attribute the revolution in the Progressive Party's fortunes to other parties' weaknesses, and to its determined opposition to a deal to compensate Dutch and British savers hit when the collapse of Landsbanki in 2008 resulted in losses for holders of its online Icesave account. In January, the court of the European Free-Trade Association ruled that Iceland did not have to reimburse depositors.

 

Loss of support.

The consistency of the Progressives' position has differentiated it from the performance of Bjarni Benediktsson, the leader of the Independence Party and for a long time the probable next premier. Before a 2011 referendum, Benediktsson had said voters should support a deal with London and The Hague as the best on offer. Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson, the Progressives' leader, has reinforced his advantage by maintaining discipline over a diverse party, in sharp contrast to the divisions within other parties.

 

The centre-left Social Democrats and the hard-left Left-Green Movement (LGM) joined forces to form a government in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis, which resulted in Iceland being put under an International Monetary Fund programme, now all but completed. However, the parties' differences over Europe – the LGM opposes accession – undermined the government. Four defections eventually reduced it to just 30 seats in the 63-seat Althingi.

 

Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, seen by many as a weak and ineffectual prime minister, has stepped down as party leader, as has the LGM's Steingrímur Sigfússon, but neither change has arrested the slide in support. In early April, the SDA had 9.7% and the LGM had 5.7%; in 2009, the SDA won 29.8% of the vote, and the LGM 21.7%.

 

The main beneficiary had long been expected to be the Independence Party, but a party conference in February contributed to its post-Icesave decline. A strongly anti-EU line emerged, including a resolution to close the EU's information office. That amplified doubts about the ability of Benediktsson, who became leader in 2009, to impose himself on a party that served in every government until 2009, and that led the country into the economic crisis.

 

While the Progressives have gained most from other parties' weaknesses, two new parties – Bright Future and the Pirate Party – should win enough votes to enter parliament.

 

The left-of-centre Bright Future looks likely to emerge in third place, making it the most powerful pro-EU party in parliament.

 

In coalition talks, the principal issue other than a referendum to end EU talks would be Iceland's policy on the determining EU-related issue for most Icelanders, management of fisheries. The one certainty is that a tough position will emerge.